A GROUP of young people have used technology to come up with new ways to provide information about youth health issues.

The podcasts, videos and apps feature health topics that affect teenagers in Darlington and offer advice and support at the touch of a screen.

The group, who attend schools around Darlington, spent several months interviewing, videoing and recording the views of young people on matters ranging from stress to sexual health, substance abuse to obesity.

With the help of health service experts and Darlington Borough Council, they are now creating a website and app that they hope will stop young people relying on misinformation on the internet.

Emily O’Hara, Darlington’s Youth MP, said: “One of the big problems is that young people tend to use Google but the health information they find is often for much worse cases than they are experiencing.

“The people we talked to said there was no one place they could go to get the help they needed. They want to be able to get help, or at least find the right people to talk to, from the privacy of their bedrooms or their smart phones – so that’s what we are developing.”

The project was developed by Darlington’s shadow health and well-being board, with facilities provided by The Box, in Priestgate.

Councillor Cyndi Hughes, Darlington Borough Council’s cabinet member for children and young people, said: “We wanted to find something different, something that had not been tried before, to get young people engaged and make them aware of issues that could affect their lives.”

The system is expected to go live at the end of January and will be regularly updated and linked with health campaigns.