The effects of screen overexposure
READ: Dutch suggest social media ban for under-15s
Children who emulate this behaviour are 70-percent more likely to experience suicidal thoughts or engage in suicidal behaviours compared to those with limited screen time.
Excessive consumption of low-quality online content leads to "brain rot".
Dr Melané van Zyl, a psychiatrist, explained the dangers of excessive screen time on children's mental health.
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IOL News
3 days ago
- IOL News
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Bullying at South Africa's schools is no longer just about dealing with bruises. The advent of social media brings a whole new facet of bullying and pupils' mental health. SOUTH Africa's schoolchildren are in the grip of a mental health crisis, with many turning to suicide and self-harm to cope with emotional pain. The cause, experts say, is bullying, which has reached epidemic levels. Reports suggest that between 40% and 75% of pupils fall victim to it at some stage. One organisation says the situation is so dire that at least 11 children take their own lives each day. Dr Alicia Porter, a board member of the South African Society of Psychiatrists (SASOP), says bullying can also intersect with race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status, with children from disadvantaged backgrounds more likely to experience bullying in diverse, multi-ethnic environments. 'We're not just dealing with bruises anymore,' says Porter. 'I work with children and families, and there's just been such a significant increase," she says. "Before, bullying would be contained just in that environment. But with this now intersecting with the digital space, things can go viral at the click of a button, and once it's out there, you might delete it, but it cannot stop the spread.' Porter refers to a study by the Children's Institute, which found that 40% of school-going children in the country have experienced some form of bullying. She says primary and high school pupils are anxious, depressed, and in some cases suicidal. When bullying is compounded by digital shame, the psychological damage can be lifelong. 'It's no longer limited to fists and name-calling; voice notes, group chat exclusions, photo manipulation and public shaming via platforms such as Instagram, WhatsApp and TikTok create humiliation that leaves the child feeling even more vulnerable and helpless. For many victims, there's no escape.' Porter warns that bullying has led to increased rates of anxiety, depression, substance use, and even suicide. 'It's like almost a pandemic of unkindness that has been unleashed,' she says. 'Kids are making videos of kids being bullied, and while that sort of exposes what happened, we never really think about the victim and the shame and what that might do to their mental health.' More worrying, says Porter, is that schools often don't have clear or consistent ways of dealing with bullies, or even policies in place. 'So oftentimes, the victim is further traumatised by interacting with the school system, and then they're made to feel even worse, they are made to blame, or they're not taken seriously.' She recalls one case in which a school decided a 10-year-old child who had been bullied must be sent to a hospital for 21 days. Bullying, she says, is one of the main reasons why children self-harm. 'They're in distress so they cut themselves. They don't want to go to school, or their marks start to suffer, or you see a change in their behaviour. So we react to the behaviour without really understanding what might be the underlying reason.' The trauma doesn't end when a child leaves school, but follows them into adulthood, she warns. 'Mental health issues don't start in adulthood. You start developing risk factors in childhood,' Porter says, calling it a 'silent, seeping wound.' But while the victim is traumatised, the bully often needs help too. 'Bullies are also victims of trauma, neglect, or violence at home,' says Porter. 'They target those they perceive to be weaker to elevate their social standing and to fit in.' Children from disadvantaged communities, or who face differences in race and ethnicity, are especially vulnerable. Girls and boys are both at risk, but the forms of bullying differ. 'With boys, it's definitely more overt. So they are more victims of physical bullying, verbal bullying. Whereas with girls, it's a lot more subtle — exclusion, name-calling, spreading rumours, isolating them. Girls are more likely to be targets of relational or verbal bullying.' Porter doesn't believe banning digital devices is the answer. 'We're going to need to learn how to navigate rather than just take it away, because what does that do? It just buys us maybe a little bit of time. The digital age has arrived, and as parents, it's uncharted territory. We can't phone a friend or your grandma and ask her, how did you do this? We're making up the rules as we go along, but we do need to make up rules. But we haven't — and so it's kind of exploded.' She says most of her patient referrals come from teachers and has advocated for them to be trained to handle bullying and mental health issues. 'It only takes one child to lead the charge, but peer pressure turns cruelty into performance,' she says. Despite laws protecting children, many schools lack consistent policies, training, or accountability, particularly in rural or under-resourced areas. 'This is a crisis hiding in plain sight,' warns Porter. 'The emotional violence of bullying is as real as any physical wound. And unless we intervene now with urgency, compassion and a commitment to justice, we are failing an entire generation.' Danie van Loggerenberg, CEO of the National Centre for Child Protection (NCCP), says mental health complications among children are the highest they've ever been. 'Eleven children die by suicide every day,' he says. According to van Loggerenberg, up to 83% of pupils will be bullied at some stage, and because children often feel they have no one to turn to, many are turning to ChatGPT for help. He says bullying has evolved into a digital battlefield, with children creating 'shade rooms' and 'channels' on WhatsApp where they run polls on who is 'hot or not', complete with victims' photos. Their research shows that 160,000 children skip school every day because of bullying. About 90% of bullying is child-on-child, and boys are more likely to be physically violent, while girls can be far more cruel. 'That's why you won't get a movie called Mean Boys — only Mean Girls,' he says. Adeshini Naicker, Director of Childline KZN, says while physical bullying is more common in primary school, emotional and psychological abuse, including cyberbullying, intensifies in high school. 'With the rise of social media, emotional bullying now extends beyond the classroom, making it harder to escape and more damaging over time. Effective prevention needs to start early, involve schools, parents, and communities, and address both physical and emotional forms of harm,' says Naicker. The Department of Education could not be reached for comment.
IOL News
4 days ago
- IOL News
Why ignoring bullying is like bandaging a deep wound: the scars run deeper
If you or your child needs help, reach out to your school counsellor, talk to a trusted teacher, or contact Childline South Africa. Even more alarming: one in three South African teenagers is a victim of cyberbullying, where group chats, doctored photos and social media shaming extend humiliation far beyond the school gates, leaving no safe space. Once brushed off as a 'rite of passage,' bullying now affects an estimated 40% of school-going children, according to research from the Department of Basic Education. In playgrounds, WhatsApp groups and school corridors across South Africa, bullying isn't just a playground drama; it's a silent crisis reshaping children's mental health, social life and future relationships. 'We're not just dealing with bruises anymore,' warns Dr Alicia Porter, psychiatrist and board member of the South African Society of Psychiatrists (SASOP). Porter adds, 'Children become anxious, depressed, and sometimes even suicidal. The psychological wounds often last far longer than the physical ones.' Children who are bullied often hide what's happening, only speaking out after repeated trauma. What's left behind is deep: loss of self-esteem, academic decline, social withdrawal and sometimes self-harm. Porter says the real tragedy is that these aren't just childhood memories. 'We see adults still haunted by bullying decades later, struggling with trust issues, PTSD, anxiety and relationship challenges. These are psychological injuries, not just stories from the past.' A 2022 study in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry found that children who are frequently bullied have double the risk of developing clinical depression by adulthood. That's a generational wound, and it's one South Africa can't afford to ignore. The different faces of bullying While bullying cuts across gender, age and race, Porter explains that the forms it takes can differ: Boys often experience physical bullying, such as shoving, fighting or threats. Girls are more likely to face relational bullying, exclusion, name-calling and malicious rumours. But lines blur fast. Emotional bullying leaves scars just as deep as physical bruises, and many kids experience both. Right here at home, bullying can also mirror broader social issues: children from different races, ethnicities or socioeconomic backgrounds often find themselves targeted, particularly in multi-ethnic or under-resourced schools.
The Citizen
24-06-2025
- The Citizen
Excessive screen time is harming children, says psychiatrist
South Africa's soaring screen addiction is fuelling a growing mental health crisis among children and adolescents, with serious consequences for their emotional, physical, and academic well-being. That's the stark warning from Prof Renata Schoeman, psychiatrist and member of the South African Society of Psychiatrists (SASOP), who says the country's screen habits are among the worst globally. 'If we as adults are addicted, how can they not be?' Schoeman asks. 'We cannot expect children to moderate their screen time when they see adults constantly glued to their phones. Children learn by observing. If we don't model healthy digital behaviour, we are silently endorsing screen addiction.' South Africans spend an average of nine hours and 37 minutes daily on digital devices, with nearly a third of their waking hours consumed by scrolling, swiping and tapping mostly on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. This overexposure, Schoeman says, is having a devastating impact on the nation's youth. Adolescents who spend more than five hours per day on screens are 70% more likely to experience suicidal thoughts or behaviour than those with less than one hour of screen time. Even moderate use, such as four to six hours daily, has been linked to increased anxiety and depression. Recent international studies echo her concern, showing that mobile phones not only distract students from learning but can derail focus for up to 20 minutes after each interruption. Simply having a phone nearby with notifications on is enough to disrupt attention in the classroom. According to Schoeman, excessive screen time in children is linked to a cascade of mental health issues, including increased risk of depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. It is not just the mind that suffers. Physically, screen-heavy lifestyles contribute to obesity, headaches, eye strain and poor posture in children. 'Technology itself is not the enemy,' Schoeman clarifies. 'It is about how, when, and how often we use it. There is a big difference between a family movie night and hours of mindless scrolling or unmonitored gaming. The key is balance and intention.' She urges parents to take the lead by setting boundaries and modelling healthy habits. Her recommendations include: – Limit screen time by age: No screens for under-2s, max 1 hour per day for ages 2 to 5, and ideally no more than 2 hours per day for older children. – Encourage offline activities, particularly outdoors, to support holistic development. – Establish screen-free zones and times, such as during family meals or the hour before bedtime. – Model digital discipline by taking regular breaks and prioritising face-to-face interaction. – Take overnight custody of children's devices to support healthy sleep habits. – If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, contact SADAG's 24-hour Helpline at 0800 456 789. Do you have more information about the story? Please send us an email to bennittb@ or phone us on 083 625 4114. For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord's websites: Rekord East For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram or TikTok. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading! Stay in the know. Download the Caxton Local News Network App Stay in the know. Download the Caxton Local News Network App here
