A recent survey by Ipsos, a world market research and consulting firm, revealed a major wave of concern in Malaysia. According to the survey, 71% of respondents strongly support a ban on social media use by children under 14, each out and in of faculty.
This result puts Malaysia in second place after Indonesia, which has the best percentage at 79%. The level of support in Malaysia is significantly higher than the worldwide average of 60%.
The survey, which involved online interviews with 23,754 adults from 30 countries between June 21 and July 5 this 12 months, included 500 respondents from Malaysia aged 18 to 74.
The results also showed that greater than half of Malaysian respondents (51%) support a ban on cell phone use in schools.
In addition, there are concerns about artificial intelligence (AI) akin to ChatGPT, with 29% of Malaysian respondents agreeing that the usage of ChatGPT amongst students must be restricted.
Teachers face increasing responsibility
A majority of Malaysians, 64%, imagine that teachers are liable for ensuring children have basic literacy and numeracy skills. Meanwhile, only 31% of respondents fully delegate this responsibility to oldsters. Half of Malaysians also imagine that teachers should play a serious role in teaching digital literacy and online safety, with 56% of respondents agreeing.
In this context, Malaysians’ confidence within the country’s education system is comparatively high: 44% of respondents rated it positively, above the worldwide average of 33%.
Global Trends in Limiting Children’s Social Media Use
While 71% of respondents in Malaysia support a ban on social media use by children under 14, there may be also significant support from many developed countries.
Most of those countries have support levels above 50%, aside from Germany, where it’s 40%. High levels of support are seen in Japan (52%), Sweden (53%), South Korea (57%), Singapore (59%), the United States (60%) and the Netherlands (66%). France tops the list with the best level of support at 80%. These figures reflect a worldwide trend of concern concerning the impact of social media on children.
The Hidden Dangers of Smartphones and Social Media for Kids
According to a report published within the Canadian Medical Association Journal titled “Smartphones, Social Media Use, and Youth Mental Health“Smartphone and social media use has been shown to extend psychological distress, self-harm and suicidality amongst adolescents, with the best impact on girls.
Social media often influences self-perception and interpersonal relationships through social comparisons and negative interactions, akin to cyberbullying, and infrequently normalizes dangerous behaviors. In addition, heavy smartphone use results in chronic sleep deprivation, which negatively affects cognition, academic performance, and socio-emotional functioning.
Public awareness campaigns and social policies that support supportive home and college environments play a key role in helping teenagers deal with today’s challenges.
Read the total report Here.
