Beyond screen time, examine social media activities for more targeted intervention: Experts

SINGAPORE – Scrolling social media for an hour daily may not be excessive for a youth, but using that time to obsessively check for likes and withdraw from in-person friendships are problematic symptoms that will require deeper intervention.

Such interventions include counselling, building coping mechanisms, and restricting harmful platform features, said experts responding to queries from The Straits Times.

These experts are part of a panel created by the Ministry of Health to examine the impact of social media use on young people’s mental health.

The panel has submitted its report to the Government, recommending tackling social media features that could expose young users to mental health risks, rather than an age-based blanket ban on social media.

The report, published on July 30, distinguished between problematic use and excessive use of social media. The latter is broadly defined as over three hours a day.

A key distinguishing factor is whether a youth’s ability to function in other aspects of their life is affected, said panellist Andrew Yee, an assistant professor at Nanyang Technological University’s Wee Kim Wee School of Communications and Information.

An adolescent who spends four hours a day on social media chatting with friends and engaging with a fan community can still be healthy even if their use is excessive, said Yee.

This is provided that their online interactions carry over to friendships in school, and they get enough sleep and eat regular meals, and are able to put the phone down when needed, he added.

While screen time tools can help to curb excessive use, experts also recommended the introduction of offline activities such as physical hobbies.

It becomes more worrying if a young person spends their one hour a day on social media obsessively checking for likes and comments to posts, feels bad about their own image, and withdraws from in-person friendships, said Yee.

Such problematic use can sometimes be linked to emotional distress, loneliness, identity struggles, or a strong need for social validation, said fellow panellist Shawn Soh, senior team lead and lead counsellor of Touch Community Services counselling and psychological services.

“In such cases, interventions may involve counselling, strengthening coping mechanisms, improving emotional regulation, and building healthier ways to meet those needs,” said Soh.

Broader interventions include introducing tougher regulations to get social media platforms to limit features that either promote harmful content or excessive use.

“For instance, infinite scroll may make it hard for someone to assess when a social media session ends, which may lead them to put off things they may otherwise want or need to do, leading to goal conflict and guilt that is negative for one’s well-being,” said Yee.

Other problematic features for youth mental health identified in the report included auto-play functions, which encourage users to remain engaged for longer than they intended. Such online engagements may displace physical activity and in-person interactions that are essential for healthy development in young users.

Algorithmically-curated feeds were another problematic feature as they could amplify exposure to distressing or harmful content, while social feedback mechanisms such as visible “like” counts and follower metrics encourage social comparison and validation-seeking.

The report also recommended a whole-of-society response, recognising that no single intervention is sufficient on its own.

Towards this end, co-chair of the panel Lim Choon Guan told ST that more cyberliteracy workshops can be organised for parents at neighbourhood centres to familiarise them with harmful social media features and safeguards.

Since July, TikTok and TOUCH Cyber Wellness have began conducting workshops for residents in Bukit Batok East to train parents and teens on social media readiness and online safety.

Yee also urged parents to look beyond screen time and start to examine the nature of their children’s online activities so they can apply more targeted intervention measures.

“Brainrot-type scrolling on TikTok, watching cooking videos on YouTube, and looking at friends’ activities on Instagram are markedly different activities and experiences,” said Yee.

He added that parents can join their children in online activities they engage in – for instance, watching cooking videos – and explain the distinction between the various types of activities and their impacts.

Additionally, Soh urged schools to create space for guided discussions and scenario-based learning to help young users reflect on their social media use.

“For example, ask how certain content makes them feel, why they are drawn to it, and whether their online interactions are affecting their mood, self-esteem, sleep or relationships,” said Soh.

“The key is for digital literacy to be reinforced consistently across different touchpoints – at home, in school and in the community – so that young people receive clear and supportive guidance as they navigate online spaces.”