SARGODHA – The Department of Communication and Media Studies (DCMS), University of Sargodha, in collaboration with the District Population Welfare Department, organised a seminar on “Mental Health Care of Youth in the Advent of Social Media” here on Tuesday. The seminar aimed to address the growing psychological challenges faced by young people in today’s digitally-driven world. Malik Aftab Ahmad Awan, District Population Officer, emphasised the rising mental health concerns among youths due to excessive social media usage. He urged young individuals to become more self-aware and stressed the importance of community engagement and the constructive use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). He highlighted how such initiatives could help youths achieve financial independence.
Awan also applauded the government of Punjab’s efforts in providing the necessary psychological counseling and medical support to address these issues. Dr Mudassar Hussain Shah, Chairman of the Department of Communication and Media Studies, extended his congratulations to the students and faculty of DCMS for their recent Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed between the Vice Chancellor (VC) of the University of Sargodha, Prof Dr Qaiser Abbas, and the President of the Chinese Action Film and TV Academy, Beijing, China.
The MoU focuses on student and faculty exchanges and mutual film production, further strengthening the bonds between Pakistan and China. Dr Shah remarked that DCMS has top-notch resources, faculty, and facilities in the social media field, and commended the department’s E-Media Society for its role in advancing the professional development of students. Dr Afseen, speaking to the students, underscored the social evils resulting from the pseudo-reality created by social media. She linked issues such as FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) to both mental and physical health problems among youth and stressed the importance of fostering healthy relationships with peers and family. Iqra Akram, a clinical psychologist from FHC Sargodha, pointed out that negative thinking and the social comparison propagated through social media were exacerbating mental health problems in young people.
