The growing influence of social media on children and young people is emerging as a new challenge for parents, with mental health advocates warning that constant exposure to online content and lifestyles could worsen emotional distress.
Addiction psychology specialist and mental health advocate Rebecca Makyeli said parents need to understand the digital environment their children are growing up in instead of dismissing behaviour changes as rebellion or laziness.
“Before we describe something as rebellion, as lazy, as useless to society, reckless or irresponsible, there are a number of experiences that person may be carrying, but they have never had counselling,” Makyeli said.
She was speaking during the second annual mental health and youth well-being conference organised by STANDS, an initiative whose name stands for Listen, Include, Validate and Empower (LIVE), in Kampala on Thursday.
The conference, held to coincide with World Suicide Prevention Day, brought together mental health professionals, researchers, doctors, therapists, caregivers, young people and community influencers to discuss suicide prevention and youth well-being.
Makyeli said social media has created an environment where young people are exposed to experiences that may be difficult to process.
“Children can now compare their lives with carefully presented images of wealth, beauty, relationships and success online, while also interacting with peers and strangers beyond their immediate communities,” she said.
She said such exposure can increase social pressure, particularly among young people already struggling with grief, family problems or low self-esteem.
She cautioned against treating social media as the sole cause of the crisis and urged parents to pay attention to what their children consume online.
Dr Kenneth Kalani from the Ministry of Health said parenting has become more challenging because children are growing up in a fundamentally different environment.
“Today, children are learning from a much wider world through technology and social media,” Kalani said.
He said economic pressures have changed family life, with many households requiring both parents to work, reducing time to monitor children’s emotional wellbeing.
Kalani said parents should not assume approaches used for previous generations will automatically work today.
He said a sudden decline in school performance or withdrawal from family could be signs a young person is struggling rather than misbehaving.
LIVE Executive Director Andrew Rugasira said the crisis is compounded by stigma, which prevents many families from openly discussing emotional difficulties.
“People don’t want to talk about it. People feel ashamed to talk about it, yet each family, each community is suffering from it,” Rugasira said.
He said the conference was intended to create a national conversation around mental health and suicide prevention.
“That’s a generation of young people dying, a generation of young people killing themselves before their full potential,” he said.
Rugasira said parents can play a critical role by noticing changes in behaviour and listening without immediately judging.
“Conversations are avenues that can actually prevent a crisis from happening,” he said.
“Recovery requires ecosystem support. When someone starts to get help, we should continue to care about their wellbeing, ask how they are doing and encourage them to keep showing up and choosing to live,” he added.
According to the Ministry of Health, approximately 24.2 percent of adults and 22.9 percent of children in Uganda are affected by mental health conditions, according to the State of Uganda Population Report 2025.