AN hour a day on social media may sound harmless for a young person, but if that hour is spent obsessively checking likes, seeking validation or withdrawing from real-world friendships, experts say the behaviour could signal a deeper problem requiring intervention.
The Straits Times (ST) reported on Monday that the distinction between excessive and problematic social media use is at the heart of a report submitted to the Government by a Ministry of Health panel examining the impact of social media on young people’s mental health.
Published on July 30 in Singapore, the report broadly defines excessive use as more than three hours a day, but stops short of suggesting that time alone determines whether a young person’s social media habits are unhealthy.
Instead, the more important question is whether online activity interferes with other areas of life.
Assistant Professor Andrew Yee of Nanyang Technological University’s Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, a member of the panel, said adolescents could spend four hours a day on social media chatting with friends or participating in fan communities and still maintain healthy lives.
That would be the case if their online relationships extended into friendships at school, they slept and ate properly and remained capable of putting their phones aside when necessary.
The picture changes when social media begins to replace rather than complement real-world relationships.
Yee said spending even one hour a day online could become problematic if young people obsessively checked likes and comments, felt increasingly negative about their appearance or withdrew from in-person friendships.
Senior team lead and lead counsellor at Touch Community Services’ counselling and psychological services, Shawn Soh, said such behaviour could sometimes be associated with emotional distress, loneliness, identity struggles or a strong need for social validation.
“In such cases, interventions may involve counselling, strengthening coping mechanisms, improving emotional regulation and building healthier ways to meet those needs,” ST quoted him saying.
This suggests that simply telling young people to spend less time on their phones may miss the point.
Experts say parents, schools and policymakers should pay closer attention to what young people are actually doing online and why they are doing it.
The panel has therefore recommended tackling specific social media features that can contribute to harmful use, rather than imposing a blanket age-based ban.
Among the features identified are infinite scrolling, autoplay functions, algorithmically curated feeds and social feedback mechanisms such as visible like counts and follower numbers.
Yee said infinite scrolling could make it difficult for users to recognise when a session has ended, causing them to postpone activities they would otherwise want or need to do and potentially creating guilt and conflict.
Autoplay can similarly encourage users to remain online longer than intended, potentially displacing physical activity and face-to-face interaction that are important to healthy development.
Algorithm-driven feeds can also increase exposure to distressing or harmful material, while visible measures of popularity may encourage social comparison and validation-seeking.
The challenge, however, cannot be left to platforms or regulators alone.
Panel co-chair Lim Choon Guan said more cyber-literacy workshops could be organised for parents at neighbourhood centres to help them understand harmful platform features and available safeguards.
Since July, TikTok and Touch Cyber Wellness have also begun conducting workshops for parents and teenagers in Bukit Batok East on social media readiness and online safety.
Yee urged parents to move beyond simply monitoring screen time and instead understand the nature of their children’s online activities.
“Brainrot-type scrolling on TikTok, watching cooking videos on YouTube and looking at friends’ activities on Instagram are markedly different activities and experiences,” he said.
Parents could also participate in activities their children enjoy online, such as watching cooking videos, while helping them understand how different forms of digital engagement can affect their wellbeing.
Schools, meanwhile, have a role in helping young people develop the ability to recognise when their online behaviour is becoming unhealthy.
Soh suggested guided discussions and scenario-based learning that encourage students to consider how online content affects their emotions, self-esteem, sleep and relationships.
“For example, ask how certain content makes them feel, why they are drawn to it and whether their online interactions are affecting their mood, self-esteem, sleep or relationships,” he said.
“The key is for digital literacy to be reinforced consistently across different touchpoints – at home, in school and in the community – so that young people receive clear and supportive guidance as they navigate online spaces.”
The broader lesson is clear: the debate over young people and social media should move beyond the stopwatch.
An adolescent who spends several hours online but remains socially connected, physically active, well-rested and emotionally healthy may not face the same risks as another who spends far less time online but becomes consumed by comparison, validation and withdrawal.
The focus, therefore, should not simply be on how much social media young people consume, but on whether the platforms are helping them live their lives — or gradually replacing it. - August 10, 2026
.jpg)
