WYKEHAM JOURNAL 2024 to inappropriate material. However, I don’ t think a total ban will help. A total ban, like the one going ahead in Australia, means that when each child reaches 16, they are faced with a cliff edge where they suddenly have access to it all. This is likely to be problematic for a number of reasons. It is also unrealistic to assume that some young people will not gain access to social media through a backdoor – by parents, siblings or friends willing to age-verify accounts for them. These spaces will become even more unregulated, and they will also create disparities among those who have, and do not have, social media. And we all know that inequalities lead to unfavourable outcomes, especially among those worse off. Instead, we might consider better enforcement of parental controls and better regulation of content that young people can access on their own devices.
E: Finally, if there is one book people might read to help them navigate some of the issues around adolescent mental health that we’ ve discussed today, what would it be?
J: What Mental Illness Really Is …( and what it isn’ t), by Lucy Foulkes. It ' s a really good introduction to how we speak about mental health in society, and also to how mental health is defined.
E: What a nice way to remind me that you have just co-published a piece with Lucy.
J: Ha ha, yes, we have just published a commentary arguing that the field needs to move away from universal school‐based interventions and invest more time and resources in targeted interventions ensuring young people at risk have access to well‐tailored one-to-one services that really meet their needs.
E: A pleasure as always Jack. Thank you!
DR JACK ANDREWS
Dr Jack Andrews read Psychological & Behavioural Sciences at Cambridge and completed his PhD at the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, during which time he also worked in England’ s Department for Education, exploring the impact of mental health interventions in schools. He then spent a couple of years in Australia as a postdoc at the University of NSW( UNSW) and the University of Sydney. He currently leads a research group in the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford. His research is funded by a Fellowship from the Wellcome Trust and University College, Oxford, where he holds the Stevenson Fellowship in Medical Sciences( Psychology).
Jack has been working with staff and pupils at Winchester College since August 2024.
EMMA MACEY
Mrs Emma Macey is Dean( Academic and Strategy) at Winchester College. She has been a dedicated teacher for over 20 years acting variously as Head of Department, Head of Sixth Form, Director of Admissions & Marketing, and Director of Strategic Innovation. She holds a Bachelor of Art Education, a Bachelor of Design, a Post Graduate Certificate in Education, and is currently pursuing a Master of Educational Psychology. Throughout her career, Emma has led numerous full-school strategic initiatives, and her work now focuses on the application of evidenceinformed practice in pedagogy, assessment and pupil wellbeing.
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