10. Short Debate: Doctored Pictures, Doctored Lives

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 7:01 pm on 30 January 2019.

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Photo of Lynne Neagle Lynne Neagle Labour 7:01, 30 January 2019

I just wanted to thank Bethan for tabling this very important subject. In the Children, Young People and Education Committee's inquiry into the emotional and mental health of young people last year, social media was a constant theme that arose, and, as you've already highlighted, we are more connected than ever before. But actually, I think we are more isolated in many ways than ever before. Some of the stories that we've heard—and you've both alluded to, I think, Molly Russell, who died by suicide as a result of social media images—highlight just how bad things can get, and I hope that the Welsh Government will be supporting measures at a UK level to regulate some of these companies. But I also think it's vital that we do what we can in Wales, through our new curriculum, to actually make children and young people more resilient, but also to seize the opportunities that social media provide to help young people to talk to each other in positive and constructive ways. I think that we can turn this around and I hope that we've got the political will to do that. So, thank you, Bethan.