SINGAPORE – Social media platforms that fail to keep teenagers safe from features that fuel addiction may be required to raise their minimum age beyond the current industry standard of 13.
This is part of the Government’s priority to make social media safer by design, which includes cracking down on features that keep users scrolling endlessly, clicking, and coming back for more.
“These features are hard enough for adults to resist – for teenagers, the risks are greater,” said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong during his National Day Rally speech on Aug 23.
He added that the Government will require stronger safeguards to be built in for young users, if each platform wants to serve the youth in Singapore.
“If its safeguards remain inadequate, we will consider additional restrictions – including raising the minimum age for access to that platform beyond 13.”
PM Wong was speaking on the importance of anticipating risks and having appropriate safeguards for new technologies that emerge, drawing parallels between social media and the developments of artificial intelligence.
Social media held much promise when it first emerged, creating new opportunities and connecting friends and families online. But its downsides became clear over time, said PM Wong.
“Today, one in six young people aged 10 to 24 in Singapore show signs of problematic social media use,” he said, citing statistics from a 2023 study by the National Council of Social Service.
“For some, the problem can be severe – they spend six or seven hours a day on social media, sometimes till the wee hours of the morning.”
Children and teenagers are particularly vulnerable as their brains are still developing, are more susceptible to social pressures, and are more easily hooked by features designed to keep them constantly engaged, said PM Wong.
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