{
  "id": 5324540,
  "title": "Social media a double-edged sword for young people’s health – GHS",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/03/social-media-a-double-edged-sword-for-young-peoples-health-ghs",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-03T12:02:19.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "GBC Ghana",
    "slug": "gbc-ghana",
    "url": "https://www.gbcghanaonline.com/news/health/social-media-a-double-edged-sword/2026/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Ghana's Health Service warns that social media can be both a powerful tool and a double-edged sword for young people's sexual and reproductive health. Acting Director Mabel Kissiwah Asafo spoke at the launch of the 2026 Northern Ghana SRHR Conference for Young People, highlighting the platform's potential to promote health awareness, while also noting the risks of misinformation and harmful behavior. Teenage pregnancy, child marriage, and HIV infections remain major concerns for Ghana's youth, with UNICEF reporting that 15.2% of girls aged 15-19 have experienced pregnancy and 16% of women aged 20-24 were married before 18. The conference, now in its seventh year, aims to empower young people, especially women, to advocate for their rights and challenge harmful practices. However, the organizers stress that providing information alone is insufficient – accurate and reliable information must be available on the same platforms where misinformation thrives.",
  "summary": "By Murtala Issah Social media offers enormous opportunities to promote sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) among young people, but its growing influence is also fuelling misinformation, myths and the normalisation of harmful behaviour, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has warned. “Social media presents enormous opportunities for SRHR promotion among young people; however, it […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "MyJoyOnline Ghana",
        "title": "The coup doesn’t need soldiers anymore: Social media and the new assault on African democracy",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/03/the-coup-doesnt-need-soldiers-anymore-social-media-and-the-new",
        "published": "2026-09-03T11:50:19.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}