A mental health advocate, Veronica Eze, on Tuesday said the social media and media entertainment have not been helpful in curbing anti-social behaviours among the youths.

Ms Eze, the founder and president of Adicare Rehabilitation Home, a non-governmental organisation, made the assertion in an interview in Lagos.

She lamented that displays on entertainment and social media had misled many, particularly youths, into being involved in immoral behaviours such as smoking, drug abuse, crimes, and indecent dressing, among others.

“I think the entertainment industry has not been helpful in curbing anti-social behaviours among the youths and adolescents.

“The entertainment industry portrays antisocial behaviours such as smoking hard drugs as a normal life. The sad part of this is that most of the youths are looking up to the artistes as role models, but instead they are misleading them.

“Most of the musical shows engage in hard drugs as a good indulgence, while most of these acts lead to mental derailment,’’ she said.

Ms Eze, also a psychiatric nurse, said that the government could help by regulating what comes out of the entertainment industry to curb the rate at which youths learn and indulge in some of the social vices.

“I believe government can help by regulating what comes out of the entertainment industry because displays showing young people smoking substances openly are not a good idea.

“Smoking of hard drugs is rampant in the society now because that is what everybody can view via explicit pictures from our entertainment industry.

“We need to get to the point where we care for ourselves, especially as mental health is concerned; we need to raise responsible youths for the future of our country,’’ she said.

Ms Eze decried that many people, particularly youths, had become so addicted to the internet and social media that they could not spend a minute without picking up their phones to navigate the social media handles.

She, however, said that ‘social media was a good technological innovation but had been used by many people to exaggerate their strengths and achievements rather than a combination of strengths and weaknesses.

Ms Eze, who decried the effects of social media on mental health, said research had shown that teenagers who spent excessive amounts of time on social media were more likely to be stressed, depressed, anxious and sleep-deprived.

(NAN)