A study conducted by Oxford University and the American Psychological Association did not find any connection between the use of social media and an increase in mental health problems among its users. But the stigma of social media bringing a negative impact still remains, especially among underage users. Minister of the Ministry of Communications Fahmi Fadzil last weekend reminded parents that children under the age of 13 are not allowed to have social media accounts.
He said this is because SKMM found that children under 13 years old are not suitable to use any social media such as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and many more. The majority of social media platforms also do not allow minors to open accounts according to the terms and conditions of service.
Fahmi also added that parents can report the social media accounts of minors to SKMM to be deactivated. The Ministry of Health has held a series of meetings with parties such as Meta and Telegram to present their plans to address the issue of ownership of social media accounts among children under the age of 13.
The long-term impact of social media use is still unknown because it has only been around for about 20 years. Among the worries of parents is that social media is used by pedophiles to engage in sexual activities on children. Malaysia is the country that was found to access the highest content of underage porn in Southeast Asia according to PDRM in a report in 2018 and it is still a serious issue until today.