UNICEF, Tiktok challenge Vietnamese children to ‘disconnect’ from social media

In honor of this year’s World Children’s Day, UNICEF and Tiktok have launched a challenge on the fast-growing social platform with the goal of encouraging young people in Vietnam to ‘disconnect’ themselves from their digital devices and spend time experiencing the real world in real time.

This year’s World Children's Day celebration in Vietnam took place on Wednesday and was primarily focused on exploring the current state of mental health amongst the country’s youth.

Children, UNICEF representatives, government leaders, mental health professionals, and experts joined an event in Hanoi to discuss and propose solutions to the health issue.

At the event, UNICEF and TikTok unveiled the ‘disconnect to reconnect’ TikTok challenge – an initiative which aims to encourage young people to "separate themselves from digital devices and spend time with families, friends, and experience the real world," according to UNICEF’s website.

Rana Flowers, UNICEF representative to Vietnam, said that the COVID-19 pandemic has driven an increase in the number of children who harm themselves or commit suiside.

The number of children who are stigmatized due to differences, isolation, abuse, distraction, or difficulties is also increasing rapidly, she said.

According to Flowers, these issues are caused by the limited opportunities young people now have to meet and interact with friends amid the pandemic, as well as changes in daily routines that have led to fear and grief.

“In the last two years, the impact of this pandemic can be measured across every area of the Convention on the Rights of the Child," Flowers shared.

"We experience regression in the achievement of all rights, we see more and more children left behind.

“The pandemic has shone a light on insufficiently addressed areas like violence, digital access or child labor, but it has also highlighted just how much the turmoil in the outside world can affect the world inside our heads."

During the celebration, Deputy Minister of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Ha called on relevant government agencies to put a stronger focus on improving mental health of young people and caregivers, particularly while the pandemic persists.

“The government must conduct research and implement programs that support children and mitigate the impacts of COVID-19, with an emphasis on comprehensive, multidisciplinary support programs on mental health and psychosocial care,” Ha stated.

Several delegates at the event also noted the importance of supporting, caring for, and listening to their children without passing judgement.

Many of the delegates noted that ignorance of children’s rights and discrimination were both major roadblocks to the ability of young people to access mental health care.

World Children’s Day is globally celebrated each year on November 20 to mark the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

On February 20, 1990, Vietnam became the first country in Asia and second in the world to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

During the past several years, World Children’s Day has been used by UNICEF to highlight the most pressing global issues facing children and to offer kids around the world an international platform to raise their voices.

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