Health Check Podcast: Youth can take charge of their social media use; how parents can help
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(From left) Head of Touch Cyber Wellness Joanne Wong, ST podcast producer Eden Soh and ST senior health correspondent Joyce Teo in the podcast studio.
ST PHOTO: PAXTON PANG
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Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you.
In May, the United States surgeon general Dr Vivek Murthy, who is known as the nation’s doctor, issued an advisory on social media and youth mental health to warn young people of the possible effects of excessive social media use.
Dr Murthy said that social media started only about a decade ago and there is not enough research at the moment to show that it is safe for adolescents and children. Young people are going through a critical stage of brain development that can make them more vulnerable to the harmful effects of social media.
He thus issued a call for not just families and young people, but policymakers, technology companies, and researchers to gain a better understanding of the full impact of social media use, maximise the benefits and minimize the harms of social media platforms, and create safer, healthier online environments to protect children.
In Singapore, it is not uncommon to see upper primary school children with their own mobile phones. Some teachers use Whatsapp to communicate with their secondary school students.
In this episode, Straits Times senior health correspondent Joyce Teo talks to Ms Joanne Wong, the head of Touch Cyber Wellness, a service of TOUCH Community Services, about the issues that she sees here, and what parents and young people can do to protect themselves.
Highlights (click/tap above):
2:29 Youth social media consumption issues in Singapore
4:41 Signs of excessive social media use
7:51 How parents can help their children understand the importance of having a life outside of social media
13:15 Cyber wellness issues in Singapore
21:25 What parents can do to protect youth from social media harms
Produced by: Joyce Teo ( joyceteo@sph.com.sg
Edited by: Eden Soh
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