Amid rising mental health concerns, Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton is urging Jamaicans to reflect on their own social media habits, arguing that many people are unaware that they have developed an addiction to constant online engagement which, he said, is now contributing to growing mental health problems.

He described social media as a “double-edged sword”, noting that while digital platforms provide communication and entertainment, they are increasingly harming the mental and emotional well-being of users.

“Social media is now being classified as an addiction, an addiction in the sense that the mobile phone — which clearly was intended to do good and clearly serves an important purpose in terms of communication and information gathering — has become the source of every type of information that you can think of,” Tufton said at this week’s
Jamaica Observer Monday Exchange which examined mental health issues ahead of today’s observation of World Mental Health Day.

Tufton also explained that while the Internet has revolutionised communication, it has also opened the door to widespread misinformation, online obsession, and unhealthy comparisons.

“In more recent times it [social media] is the source of significant misinformation generated either through technology-related artificial intelligence, where it creates a number of likely scenarios for the average android. It can become an aspirational desire to achieve what cannot be achieved because it’s generated artificially, it could also be the source of a deviant behaviour [and] it could be the source of many mental health challenges,” he explained.

The health and wellness minister pointed out that studies are emerging which link prolonged social media use to depression, reduced productivity, and even physical exhaustion, noting that many Jamaicans fail to recognise how late-night scrolling and the pressure to stay connected are quietly taking a toll on their minds and bodies.

“One of the first things we need to do is challenge persons to think about whether or not they should turn off their phones at 9 o’clock and go to bed, because rest is more important than being on the various platforms until 2:00 am and then don’t get enough sleep and the next day you’re stressed out and tired and can’t drive a vehicle and so on, and get into other issues… I think those are issues that we have to confront,” he said.

But despite growing concerns, Dr Tufton made it clear that he is not advocating a ban on social media, but instead is urging a collective effort to recognise and address its negative impact on mental health.

He noted that while individuals must take responsibility for their own online behaviour, the Government and families also have important roles to play in encouraging moderation and healthy digital habits.

“From a Government’s perspective, I think we have to start with the awareness that it’s not just about entertainment or information, it can lead to influences and indeed can create challenges. I’ve seen on social media where people, trying just to make a post popular, harm themselves in significant ways, even dying; people jumping out of planes and all sorts of things. So there is no doubt — I don’t think it’s debatable — that social media is a double-edged sword and what we have to do is get a society to recognise its potential ills, even while accepting the positives of it,” Dr Tufton said.

His comments come amid a growing global debate on how far governments should go in restricting social media use — especially among children. Recently, Australia announced plans to ban social media access for children under 16, citing research that links prolonged use to anxiety, depression, and poor sleep quality. Similar conversations are taking place in the United States, the United Kingdom, and other parts of Europe, where policymakers are considering digital curfews, parental controls, and stricter verification systems for young users.

Dr Tufton said while Jamaica has not yet reached the point of legislating social media restrictions, the issue may have to be revisited as the long-term effects on mental health become clearer.

“I guess the future will determine whether the issue of how you restrict, from a government policy perspective, will have to be dealt with. I do believe that some sites should be restricted, the question is how you manage that, but as I said, I think that you have to balance between the right of persons to choose and to have information and access to their device and what they access on the device against what serves the greater good of the population and the society, and I think it starts with informing people about what the ills potentially are,” he said.

For now, he is calling for greater parental guidance and social responsibility, arguing that the first line of defence lies within homes and schools.

“We really should use the opportunity to encourage parents to spend some time with their children around social media [and] access to social media. It’s easy now to have a smartphone, and sometimes it’s an important tool to communicate with your guardians and parents, but in the context of the home we would want to — certainly from a health perspective and a mental health perspective — encourage parents to manage and monitor, and where necessary, restrict certain sites,” he said.