Social media has become part of growing up. Adolescents use it to maintain friendships, express themselves, learn new skills and find communities where they feel accepted. Yet the same technology that brings young people together can expose them to bullying, harmful content, exploitation and relentless social comparison. The concern is not simply how many hours a teenager spends online, but what they do online, how it makes them feel, and what it takes away from their lives offline.

Different platforms, different risks

1. Social networking and photo-sharing apps such as Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat encourage sharing photographs, personal updates and daily experiences. Likes, comments and follower counts can become measures of self-worth. Constant comparison with edited images and seemingly perfect lives may contribute to body dissatisfaction, anxiety and low mood. Location sharing and public profiles can also expose teenagers to unwanted contact or stalking.

2. Short-video and livestreaming platforms, including TikTok and YouTube, offer entertaining, personalised streams of content. Autoplay, endless scrolling and recommendation algorithms can make it difficult to stop. Repeated exposure to unrealistic beauty standards, extreme dieting, self-harm material or dangerous challenges may influence vulnerable adolescents. Late-night viewing can displace sleep and schoolwork.

3. Messaging apps and group chats, such as WhatsApp and Telegram, help friends stay in touch. However, rumours, humiliating photographs, cyberbullying and threats can spread rapidly. Being excluded from a group or feeling obliged to reply immediately can create distress. Private messages are not necessarily private forever: screenshots and forwarded content can travel far beyond the intended audience.

4. Discussion forums, anonymous platforms and online communities can provide valuable peer support, particularly for teenagers who feel isolated. But anonymity can also encourage harassment, extremist ideas, sexual exploitation and harmful advice. Young people may find themselves in communities that normalise self-harm, disordered eating or violence.

5. Online multiplayer games offer entertainment, competition and a way to connect with others. However, chat features can expose children to bullying, scams or inappropriate contact. While enjoying games or playing often does not automatically mean a child is addicted, for some, gaming can become hard to control and affect schoolwork, family relationships, physical activity and sleep. The World Health Organization recognises gaming disorder when gaming becomes difficult to control and seriously affects daily life.

What does the evidence tell us?

A World Health Organization study of nearly 280,000 young people across 44 countries and regions found that problematic social media use increased from 7% in 2018 to 11% in 2022. Other research has linked problematic use to depression, anxiety and sleep problems.

However, social media does not affect everyone in the same way. The impact depends on what teenagers experience online and whether screen time affects their sleep, schoolwork, exercise and relationships.

Warning signs include becoming irritable without a phone, losing interest in activities, withdrawing from friends or doing less well at school. Rather than immediately taking away devices, try to understand what is happening and offer support.

Singapore and overseas laws and social media restrictions

Governments are introducing stronger rules to protect children online, recognising that parents cannot manage these risks alone.

Singapore: Online safety laws require designated social media platforms to take steps to address harmful content. Newer laws also provide ways to seek help for certain online harms, such as harassment and the sharing of intimate images without consent. Singapore is also developing stronger age-related protections for younger users, with additional measures expected to strengthen online protection.

Australia: Since December 2025, covered social media platforms have been required to take reasonable steps to prevent children under 16 from holding accounts. The responsibility falls on platforms, not children or their parents.

United Kingdom: The Online Safety Act 2023 requires stronger protections for children online, including age checks for access to certain harmful content. It does not ban all under-18s from using social media.

These laws are an important step, but they cannot replace open family conversations, teaching teenagers how to stay safe online, and providing emotional support.

Advice for teenagers and parents

For teenagers: Turn off non-essential notifications, unfollow accounts that make you feel inadequate, and use app timers to decide when to stop rather than relying on willpower alone. Keep phones away during meals, study sessions and bedtime. Protect passwords and personal information, avoid meeting online contacts alone, and never send intimate images under pressure. Block and report abusive users, keep evidence of threats when safe, and tell a trusted adult. You do not have to respond immediately to every message or remain in every group chat.

For parents: Agree on realistic screen-time boundaries together, rather than imposing rules only after conflict occurs. Keep bedrooms and family meals as phone-free spaces, establish a regular bedtime and model the habits you expect. Use built-in screen-time reports and parental controls as conversation starters, not as substitutes for trust. Encourage sport, hobbies, outdoor activity and face-to-face friendships. Ask what your teenager enjoys online and what makes them uncomfortable.

Most importantly, look beyond the clock. A teenager who spends considerable time online but sleeps well, attends school, maintains relationships and can disengage may be coping adequately. A teenager whose gaming or scrolling repeatedly disrupts sleep, education, relationships or emotional health needs closer attention. Persistent loss of control, concealment, withdrawal from everyday life or severe distress warrants professional assessment.

Where to seek help in Singapore

1.  National Addictions Management Service (NAMS), Institute of Mental Health (6-7326837 - 6-RECOVER)

   All Addictions Helpline, daily 8.30am–9pm, including public holidays. NAMS provides assessment and treatment for problematic internet use and gaming, including its ReLive programme for adolescents aged 13–18. For appointments, call 6389 2200.

2. IMH Child Guidance Clinic

   For children under 13 experiencing significant behavioural, emotional or mental health difficulties, including problems related to excessive gaming. A polyclinic or suitable healthcare professional can advise on referral arrangements.

3. CHAT — Community Health Assessment Team

   A youth mental health service for young people aged 16–30 in Singapore. It offers mental health information, assessment and guidance on accessing appropriate support. It is not a specialist gaming-addiction treatment service but may help when problematic gaming coexists with emotional difficulties.

The message we should give adolescents is neither that social media is entirely harmful nor that they should manage every risk alone. Technology is here to stay, but sleep, relationships, education, physical health and self-respect must not become its casualties. Our responsibility is to help young people enjoy the benefits of being connected without allowing the online world to take over their lives.

Selected References

1. World Health Organization. Inclusion of “gaming disorder” in ICD-11.

2. WHO Regional Office for Europe. Teens, screens and mental health. 25 September 2024.

3. Social media use, mental health and sleep: A systematic review with meta-analyses. Journal of Affective Disorders, 2024.

4. Infocomm Media Development Authority. Enhancing Online Safety in Singapore.

5. Ministry of Digital Development and Information. Online Safety Commission and Online Safety (Relief and Accountability) Act 2025 to start on 29 June 2026.

6. Ministry of Digital Development and Information. Response on strengthening child social media safeguards. 8 September 2026.

7. Australian eSafety Commissioner. Social media age restrictions.

8. UK Government. What's changing for children on social media from 25 July 2025.

9. National Addictions Management Service. Internet and Gaming; Adolescent Service.