Addiction, doom scrolling, cyberbullying most common social media harms among youth

Getting firms to act against their own commercial imperatives of maximising engagement would be a major challenge, said panellists at YouthTechSG’s event on Sept 14.

ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN

Published Sep 14, 2026, 05:49 PM

Updated Sep 14, 2026, 05:49 PM

SINGAPORE - Addiction and doom scrolling are the most commonly cited harms of social media use among youths, followed closely by cyberbullying and inappropriate content.

These findings come from a new report published on Sept 14 by YouthTechSG, a youth-led charity.

The study examined how young people experience social media and the harms they encounter through focused group discussions, street interviews and an online poll.

It also explored the protection young people consider practical and trustworthy, with combined responses from 227 people aged between 13 and 35.

More than one in five of the 116 respondents who took part in the focused group discussions and street interviews cited addiction and doom scrolling as the most common harm they experience on social media. This is followed by cyberbullying, toxicity and inappropriate content.

Nearly half of the 111 online poll respondents said that platform-design mechanisms such as infinite scroll and recommendation systems are the primary source of harm. Other commonly-cited sources of harm are user or AI-generated content and unwanted messages.

“User behaviour remains an important part of the explanation for poor online conduct,” said YouthTechSG in its Youth Digital Pulse Report.

The report added that anonymity, reduced social cues and physical distance can weaken the restraints that are usually present in face-to-face interactions.

YouthTechSG’s report comes on the back of the government’s renewed push to make social media safer for younger users.

Measures being considered include daily time limits and turning off auto-play by default to curb infinite scroll. The authorities are also studying other ways to counter addiction, dangerous interactions, and unhealthy comparisons.

Legislative changes will be tabled early in 2027 to facilitate enforcement through age checks, said Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo in August.

She added that social media services that are unable or unwilling to introduce safeguards may have to raise their minimum age requirement from the industry standard of 13 to 18.

Three quarters of the respondents in the online survey said better in-app reporting and support tools could be effective in addressing social media harms. More than half of respondents also backed having less algorithm-driven and more chronological feeds to tackle harms effectively.

Nearly four in five of 39 youths that participated in the focused group discussions opposed a blanket ban on social media for young people. They cited a “cliff effect” where youths would face abrupt transition moving from full restrictions to a completely unrestricted online space with minimal safeguards.

The lived experiences of young people must be used to shape the safeguards that the government mandates, said Minister of State for Digital Development and Information Rahayu Mahzam during the launch of YouthTechSG’s report at the Singapore Management University on Sept 14.

“What struck me is that a large majority of youths consulted for the report did not see an outright ban on social media as the answer,” said Rahayu.

“Many youths want strong safeguards against online harms, but also room to learn, participate, and grow in the digital world.”

A panel discussion at the event titled ‘From insight to action, making social media safer for youths’ also brought together experts to delve deeper into the study findings.

The panellists include director of SMU Centre for Digital Law associate professor Jason Grant Allen, SMU’s vice-president of partnerships and engagement and professor of communication and technology Lim Sun Sun, director of the Ministry of Digital Development and Information’s information policy division Angela Tan, and head of advocacy at YouthTechSG’s YouthTech Institute Zoe Toh.

Getting firms to act against their own commercial imperatives of maximising engagement would be a major challenge, said panellists. The panel discussion was held under Chatham House rules, which allow the reporting of what was said but not who said it.

“Algorithmic recommendations, auto-play, and infinite scroll...these kinds of engagement-driven features will always be working against users rather than for them,” said one panellist.

9 月 14 日，YouthTechSG 的活动上，与会专家表示，要让企业违背自身最大化参与度的商业需要，将是一项重大挑战。

圣徒照片：吴索銮

发布于 2026 年 9 月 14 日下午 5:49

更新于2026年9月14日下午5:49

新加坡——青少年最常提及的社交媒体使用危害是沉迷和浏览负面新闻，其次是网络欺凌和不当内容。

这些发现来自青年主导的慈善机构 YouthTechSG 于 9 月 14 日发布的一份新报告。

该研究通过小组讨论、街头采访和在线调查，调查了年轻人如何体验社交媒体以及他们遇到的危害。

该调查还探讨了年轻人认为实用且值得信赖的保护措施，调查对象为 227 名年龄在 13 岁至 35 岁之间的年轻人。

在参与焦点小组讨论和街头采访的116名受访者中，超过五分之一的人表示，社交媒体成瘾和沉迷于负面信息是他们在社交媒体上遇到的最常见危害。其次是网络欺凌、网络暴力和不当内容。

在111名在线受访者中，近半数表示，平台设计机制（例如无限滚动和推荐系统）是造成危害的主要来源。其他常见的危害来源包括用户或人工智能生成的内容以及垃圾信息。

YouthTechSG 在其《青年数字脉搏报告》中指出：“用户行为仍然是解释不良网络行为的重要因素。”

报告还指出，匿名性、社交线索的减少和物理距离可以削弱面对面互动中通常存在的约束。

YouthTechSG 的这份报告是在政府加大力度让社交媒体对年轻用户更加安全之后发布的。

正在考虑的措施包括每日使用时间限制和默认关闭自动播放功能，以遏制无限滚动。当局还在研究其他方法来应对成瘾、危险互动和不健康的攀比行为。

数字发展及新闻部长杨莉明在8月份表示，将于2027年初提交立法修改方案，以通过年龄检查来加强执法。

她补充说，那些无法或不愿引入安全措施的社交媒体服务可能需要将最低年龄要求从行业标准的 13 岁提高到 18 岁。

在线调查中，四分之三的受访者表示，更完善的应用内举报和支持工具能够有效应对社交媒体带来的危害。超过半数的受访者也支持减少算法驱动的信息流，增加时间顺序信息流，以更有效地解决这些问题。

在参与焦点小组讨论的39名青少年中，近五分之四的人反对全面禁止青少年使用社交媒体。他们认为这将造成“断崖式”影响，青少年将面临从全面限制突然过渡到完全不受限制、安全措施极少的网络空间的局面。

新加坡数字发展及新闻部政务部长拉哈尤·马赫扎姆 (Rahayu Mahzam) 于 9 月 14 日在新加坡管理大学举行的 YouthTechSG 报告发布会上表示，必须利用年轻人的生活经验来制定政府强制执行的保障措施。

拉哈尤说：“令我感到惊讶的是，这份报告咨询的大多数年轻人并不认为彻底禁止社交媒体是解决问题的办法。”

“许多青少年希望有强有力的保障措施来抵御网络危害，但也希望有空间在数字世界中学习、参与和成长。”

本次活动还举办了一场题为“从洞察到行动，让社交媒体对青少年更安全”的小组讨论，邀请专家深入探讨该研究结果。

小组成员包括新加坡管理大学数字法律中心主任、副教授 Jason Grant Allen，新加坡管理大学合作与参与副校长兼传播与技术教授 Lim Sun Sun，新加坡数字发展与新闻部信息政策司司长 Angela Tan，以及 YouthTechSG 旗下 YouthTech Institute 的倡导负责人 Zoe Toh。

与会专家表示，要让企业违背自身追求客户参与度最大化的商业考量，将是一项重大挑战。本次小组讨论遵循查塔姆研究所规则，该规则允许报道讨论内容，但不允许报道发言者。

一位小组成员表示：“算法推荐、自动播放和无限滚动……这些以用户参与度为导向的功能，总是会对用户产生负面影响，而不是对他们有利。”