1/ Each week, TODAY’s Big Read series delves into trends and issues that matter. This week, we look at how social media addiction could impact children and youths’ mental health, and why it should be taken seriously in the face of inconclusive research.
At times, he even finds himself getting dizzy or sick after consecutive weeks of late-night scrolling. When this happens, he usually stops using social media for a few days, but eventually returns to it.
Rebecca also noted how social media has affected her ability to process her emotions, as she can be fed random and vastly different videos consecutively through her TikTok “For You” page. His mother, who wanted to be known only as Ms Lisa, told TODAY that at the peak of Josiah’s addiction, he would be on his phone at every waking moment — even during meal times, or while crossing the road.
Eventually, with her encouragement, Josiah sought professional help last year through a boxing and group therapy programme organised by youth-based non-profit organisation Impart, after being addicted for almost three years.that social media could have on one’s mental health.about youths’ chase for “likes” on social media and the dangers it poses.of suicide rates since 2000, with the greatest number of deaths being among young people aged 20 to 29, the Samaritans of Singapore said in June.
Ms Ranjini Veerappan, a certified addiction specialist at Holistic Psychotherapy Centre, said that a child’s brain is still maturing and rapidly developing until they are about 25 years old. “Pre-teens between 10 and 12 are particularly vulnerable to the need for the attention and admiration of others,” she added.
Beyond these, experts warn that the long-term effects of a social media addiction on children and youths’ mental health and development are far-reaching and should not be ignored, even after the addiction has been overcome. Agreeing, Ms Claire Leong, a counsellor at Sofia Wellness Clinic, said: “This is because addiction is usually a form of maladaptive coping. Until they find healthy coping skills, they are likely to fall into different types of addiction as they experience more stressors in life.
“We’re all at the age where our hormones and everything, we’re very prone to comparing ourselves to other people — in the sense that I already compare myself to others in real life, there’s no need for me to compare myself to other people whom I don’t even know online,” said Natalie. “Because of that, I don’t know what they are talking about, so sometimes I feel a bit left out. I can only sit there and nod, but I have no idea what’s going on.”
While Josiah said that going for therapy has helped him to manage his internet addiction — he now tries to limit his screen time, including not using his devices in the morning — he has not stopped using them completely. While Aqil admitted that six to seven hours is “quite a lot”, he is not concerned and does not actively limit his time on social media, as he feels it does not affect his school work or physical health.
“Hence, we can only highlight the impact of excessive social media use but we won’t be able to talk about diagnosis since it’s not a recognised disorder,” said Dr Ong of IMH. Dr Jeremy Sng, a lecturer at Nanyang Technological University’s School of Social Sciences, said: “Many studies have claimed to find links between social media use and mental health issues, but the causal direction of these studies is actually unclear.”
Dr Loh from Promises Healthcare added: “For social media, it has been around for barely past a decade, so we are still trying to understand downstream implications.”When does social media consumption morph into social media addiction? “Before I would call any behaviour an ‘addiction’, I look at three different factors — tolerance, dependency, and dysfunction,” she said.
Mr Mark Rozario, a clinical psychologist at Mind What Matters, added that while the disruption of one’s daily routine or schedule can be a clear sign of risk, another signal is if one is also spending more time on social media than initially planned. Ms Jane Goh, deputy director of creative and youth services at the Singapore Association for Mental Health , said that educating the young on social media use would be the way to go.
This includes encouraging outdoor activities and sports, especially those that involve group and in-person social interaction, teamwork and collaboration. Mr Brucely Christopher Edison, who has two sons aged 18 and 20, noted that with mobile phones becoming a necessity, it is hard to control what children use them for.
“We can help young people develop that by having conversations about how and what they feel, including when they encounter things they see on social media.”
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