Impulse control: Malaysia’s social media ban targets teen minds
The government is threatening to pull the plug on social media for under-16s after a spate of youth violence linked to life online
Eric Wong is only 20, but his life online is so consuming that he struggles to draw a line between his digital presence and the physical world.
“If there’s time in between classes, me and my friends will gather in the cafeteria or the nearby mamak (food stall) to play PUBG or Mobile Legends,” the engineering student told This Week in Asia, referring to two popular mobile games.
“If not, I’m checking out TikTok or Instagram. My parents think me and my friends don’t communicate, but we are always chatting on our phones. It’s just easier to share things that way.”
For Wong and millions of others like him, content is never more than a tap away and boredom has practically gone extinct.
But psychologists warn that this constant connectivity has a darker side. The relentless barrage of likes, rejection and digital rewards has begun reshaping how younger users react to the outside world, sometimes with harmful consequences.
While social media may not directly cause acts of violence or abuse, mental health experts increasingly believe it can amplify risky impulses among vulnerable teens.