Written question AQW 44650/22-27
Written question by Mr Justin McNulty on .
- MLA
- Mr Justin McNulty
- Party at the time
- Social Democratic and Labour Party
- Date
- 23 April 2026
- Type
- Written question
- Assembly reference
- AQW 44650/22-27
- Department
- Department of Health
- Business
- To the Minister of Health
- Assembly identifier
- Document 481372
Read the official Assembly record Open Data source
Text
To ask the Minister of Health whether any assessment has been made of the September 2025 Queens University Belfast Screens, Safety and Social Media study which found that over 75 per cent of 16 year olds surveyed spent at least three hours on average per day on social media, given that higher use is associated with poorer self-reported mental health.
60 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.03 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.88).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- Subject area: Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.02 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.03 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.88 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.03 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits | 0.45 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.31 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.22 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.01 |
| Education structures, integration and community division | 0.01 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 06:37 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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