'Mental risk' of Facebook teens

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Children growing up alongside the rise of social networking websites may have a "potentially dangerous" view of the world, says a leading psychiatrist.

Dr Himanshu Tyagi said sites such as Facebook and MySpace may be harmful.

He told the Royal College of Psychiatrists annual meeting people with active online identities might place less value on their real lives.

And the West London Mental Health NHS Trust expert added this could raise the risk of impulsive acts or even suicide.

It may be possible that young people who have no experience of a world without online societies put less value on their real world identities Dr Himanshu TyagiWest London Mental Health NHS Trust

Dr Tyagi said that people born after 1990 did not know a world without the widespread use of the internet.

He warned that the current crop of psychiatrists were perhaps not fully prepared to help young people with internet-related problems.

While social networking sites offered great benefits, he said, there were potential pitfalls.

'Unstimulating'

"It's a world where everything moves fast and changes all the time, where relationships are quickly disposed at the click of a mouse, where you can delete your profile if you don't like it, and swap an unacceptable identity in the blink of an eye for one that is more acceptable."

He said: "People used to the quick pace of online social networking may soon find the real world boring and unstimulating.

"It may be possible that young people who have no experience of a world without online societies put less value on their real world identities and can therefore be at risk in their real lives, perhaps more vulnerable to impulsive behaviour or even suicide."

He called for more investigation and research into the issue.

However, Graham Jones, a psychologist with an interest in the impact of the internet, said that while over-use of social networking sites could lead to problems, the risks posed by them had been overplayed.

He said: "For every new generation, the experience they have of the world is a different one.

"When the printing press was first invented, I am sure there were crowds of people saying it was a bad thing.

"In my experience, the people who tend to be most active on sites such as Facebook or Bebo are those who are most socially active anyway - it is just an extension of what they are already doing."