Commentary: Momentum is growing worldwide to make social media less addictive

The lesson from social media is that engagement-driven business models lead to predictable harm to some users. AI companies are already facing lawsuits for harming users who developed emotional bonds with chatbots, including those from family members of users who died by suicide. Platforms have had little incentive to fix what is working as designed, to keep us engaged. 

Kaley’s verdict and the emerging EU approach raise possibilities that Singapore might consider. Your late-night doomscrolling or chats with AI aren’t just failures of your willpower. They are the result of platform design choices. 

The questions now are whether social media platforms and AI chatbots will help users make informed choices and how impactful new safety features will be.

Dr Mark Cenite is Associate Dean (Undergraduate Education) at Nanyang Technological University’s College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, and teaches media law and artificial intelligence law at the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information.