Pornography and video games are contributing to rising unemployment among young men, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has warned.
Mel Stride said easy access to explicit content and video games was contributing to the deterioration of the mental health of teenage and young adult males.
They are leaving the workforce in large numbers, contributing to worrying levels of stagnation in economic activity across the UK.
Mr Stride told MPs yesterday that pornography and gaming were a “major contributing factor” to the shocking unemployment figures for men.
The latest figures from the UK Office for National Statistics show a staggering one in seven young men are currently not in employment, education or training – compared with one in ten young women.
And the situation is getting worse, with a further 99,000 men aged 16 to 24 becoming unemployed or finishing their studies by the end of March. 900,000 young people are now unemployed.
In contrast, the number of unemployed young women fell by 11,000 over the same period.
Social media platforms and technology are contributing to “deeply worrying” mental health issues, the minister said.
Stride called for more research into the negative impact of things like pornography, video games and social media on young people's mental health.
He said: “I think that perhaps we as a society have not explored and fully illuminated exactly what the implications of this technology are for young people's mental health, because I think the impacts are really serious and it's probably an area that needs further research.”
She added to the Work and Pensions Select Committee that young women's health was also being damaged by the unrealistic ideals portrayed on apps such as TikTok and Instagram.
Last year, the American Journal of Neuropsychiatric Disorders concluded that anxiety and depression are “strongly associated” with pornography viewing.
It comes as Britain faces its worst ever outbreak of non-payment of sick leave pay among its oldest and youngest workers.
More than 2.8 million working-age Britons are out of work due to health problems, including mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression.
Stride added that the pandemic has also hindered young people and contributed to poor mental health.
