新加坡国会：儿童会对脸书、IG、TikTok等平台上的内容上瘾

Designated SMSs are due to submit their first online safety compliance reports by end-July 2024 and we will evaluate their compliance with the Online Safety Code before assessing if there is a need to tighten any requirements. Age assurance remains one of our key considerations in ensuring the online safety of children. While most major social media services require users to be at least 13 years old, they rely primarily on users’ self-declaration. With the growing availability of age assurance methods, we are seriously studying how the industry can do more on this front to better protect children online.

Excessive use of social media is also a key concern associated with anxiety, depression, insomnia and stress. These associations are linked to the duration, frequency and number of social media platforms being used2. It is as yet unclear if putting warning labels on social media platforms, on its own, will be effective in curbing excessive use. We have instead adopted a more holistic strategy which includes educating and providing stronger support to parents and children.

For parents who suspect that their children may have developed dependency on social media, they can seek help from community service providers, such as TOUCH Community Services, which runs counselling and intervention programmes for affected youths. Alternatively, parents can tap on specialised services, such as the National Addictions Management Service (NAMS), for assessment and intervention.

We also recognise that it is important to go upstream to provide support and create awareness amongst parents early, even before the child is born. Prevention is better than cure. In this regard, the Government is committed to taking more decisive and effective measures to shape the habit of device usage. The Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) oversee the key touchpoints for children up to six years old, through child and maternity care and preschools. They intend to make their advice on device usage and screen time clearer and more definitive and to deliver them consistently across all healthcare settings with more reminders. They can put such advice into practice in preschools and encourage their adoption at home. MOH and MSF will finalise and announce these initiatives in the coming months. At the same time, Ministry of Communications and Information is working with MOH and MSF to strengthen safeguards where practical.

Note(s) to Question No(s) 107:

1 Question subsequently withdrawn: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information whether the Government will consider requiring social media platforms to exhibit warnings of the harmful effects of excessive social media use by children or regulating the age on which a child is allowed to register for a social media account.

2 Zubair, U., Khan, M. K., & Albashari, M. (2023). Link between excessive social media use and psychiatric disorders. Annals of Medicine and Surgery, 85(4), 875–878. https://doi.org/10.1097/MS9.0000000000000112

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