Claudia Sheinbaum, the President of Mexico, has launched the national initiative titled “The ABC of Emotions”, aimed at addressing the mental health and socio-emotional well-being of young people aged between 14 and 18 through a preventive approach. During her morning press conference, Sheinbaum elaborated on the programme’s objective, which is to encourage collaboration among secondary school teachers, parents, and students to tackle potential mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, isolation, bullying, and stress within the student population.
The strategy is set to benefit approximately 6.8 million students, incorporating the distribution of 16 million guides tailored for parents, teenagers, and educators. These guides are designed to provide insights on recognising and appropriately managing emotions, with specialised information for each group. In classrooms for third-year secondary students and in higher secondary education institutions, one hour per week will be dedicated to discussing the content of these materials.
Community Engagement and Support Services
Additionally, the programme includes the participation of medical brigades, health specialists, and public officials who will lead sessions addressing mental wellness topics. These sessions will occur in over 100 public community spaces. Tania Rodríguez, the Undersecretary of Higher Secondary Education, emphasised that this academic year marks the first time the strategy will be implemented with a community-focused preventive approach that aims to reach the entire nation.
Rodríguez also highlighted that the programme complements the ongoing support available through the “Línea de la Vida”, a public service offered by the Ministry of Health, which provides psychological assistance, emotional support, and remote guidance 24/7 via the phone number 800 911 2000.
Sheinbaum underlined that adolescence is a period marked by significant physical, emotional, and social changes, necessitating special care for mental health, particularly in light of the impact that the digital environment can have on this developmental stage. “Adolescence is a time when many things change; our bodies change, our minds change, and so do our relationships with others. We need to talk about all of this. Furthermore, with social media and mobile phones, the impact on how we interact with others is even greater. Therefore, we must collectively support the adolescents of our country to ensure they grow up healthily and continue to thrive,” she remarked.
Regulating Technology Use in Education
In his address, Mario Delgado, head of the Ministry of Public Education (SEP), revealed that the ministry conducted a national consultation regarding the use and regulation of electronic devices in basic education. This exercise was carried out during the last Technical School Council, Intensive Phase, to gather teachers’ opinions on the presence of screens, mobile phones, and other electronic devices in primary and secondary schools.
Delgado noted that over 565,396 teachers participated in the consultation, with more than 80% expressing support for establishing guidelines and norms to ensure the safe and pedagogical use of new technologies. Among the respondents, 40% indicated that mobile phones contribute to students’ disengagement, while 34% claimed that such devices encourage the abandonment of physical social spaces. Moreover, over 38% warned that conflicts arising on social media often spill over into classrooms and schools.
Consequently, 51% of the surveyed teachers suggested implementing protocols to identify and address risk situations, as well as strengthening collaboration among teachers, parents, and students to guarantee the safe use of technology. “The SEP will continue to review these contributions to define rules that optimise the educational potential of technology while also safeguarding the well-being and cohesion of school communities,” concluded Delgado.
Ongoing Discussions on Digital Impact
For over a year, the SEP has assembled a specialised working group to analyse the effects of social media, artificial intelligence, and smartphones, as well as to devise strategies that involve all stakeholders in discussions about potential regulation. As part of this initiative, the ministry has organised four regional forums in metropolitan, northwestern, northeastern, and central-western areas of the country, engaging nearly 20,000 participants, including academics, educators, and parents.
The Ministry plans to hold two additional meetings on September 3 and September 17 to extend consultations to the south-southeast and central-south regions of the nation. On multiple occasions, Claudia Sheinbaum has articulated her administration’s intention to regulate the use of social media, mobile devices, and artificial intelligence among the youth, particularly to mitigate potential adverse effects on educational performance and ensure their mental health. “Mexico has an extraordinarily high number of hours that children and young people dedicate to screens, which affects their health and socialisation. Studies demonstrate that anxiety among young people is closely linked to screen attachment; in fact, it is already categorised as an addiction in many parts of the world, so this is a matter we need to discuss as a society,” the President remarked a few months ago.