When humans get increasingly addicted to a melange of sophisticated technologies, amazed by Artificial Intelligence, and even grown desperately reliant on them, there is no denial that embracing technology is becoming an irreversible megatrend.

That being said, why are governments excessively worried about such a development and are determined to take the necessary actions, even to the extent of reverting to the good old ways to save our next generation?

Where exactly does the problem lie? Should we put away all our mobile devices and move back to a caveman’s hideout, or let technology drag us into the abyss of the wired black hole?

Perhaps the answer is not that complicated after all. Instead of shunning it, perhaps it is best for us to learn to live peacefully with technology, master and make good use of it, and not be subjugated by it, at the same time taking active steps to comprehend the meaning of life!

Now, let us take a look at the steps adopted by some countries in more recent years:

Sweden

Swedish students still had a learning terminal in their hands back in 2006, as textbooks got gradually digitalised. Nevertheless, by 2022 the country’s education ministry came to see the negative impact of electronic devices on the students’ learning process, as children were found to be unable to focus on their schoolwork for protracted periods of time, could not think deeply nor read or write long sentences.

Teaching policies were subsequently reviewed, and the authorities actively called for “de-digitalisation”, and attached importance to physical textbooks and hands-on writing once again.

The Netherlands

The Netherlands does not have any law governing the minimum age of social media users, but the government has gradually banned the use of mobile phones, smartwatches, tablets and other electronic devices at primary and secondary schools across the country since last January, with the exceptions of computer classes, medical needs, and certain circumstances.

Finland

Replacing physical textbooks with electronic devices in class has rendered Finnish teenagers easily distracted and difficult to concentrate. As a result, some schools have begun to revert to physical textbooks, cutting back the use of electronic devices such as laptops.

The Finnish government plans to introduce reforms at primary schools, including strengthening the management of students’ mobile phone usage.

The government hopes to clarify through laws as to the powers schools and teachers may have in restricting the students’ mobile phone use.

Australia

On November 28, a bill was passed to ban children under the age of 16 from using social media – one of the most stringent in the world against Big Tech.

France

In June 2023, France passed a law requiring social media platforms to verify the age of their users. Minors under the age of 15 must obtain parental consent to open social media accounts.

The UK

The UK Online Safety Act will be put into implementation from 2025, setting stricter criteria on certain parameters such as age limits, for social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube and TikTok.

The United States

Many states in the United States have tightened supervision over social media use by minors.

Among the bills passed or drafted are the Maryland Kids Code, Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation for Kids Act, the New York Child Data Protection Act, Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, and Children’s Internet Safety Act.

China

In 2019, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) promoted the “Youth Mode” to regulate minors’ online browsing behaviours, prohibiting minors from using mobile devices to access the Internet between 10 pm and 6 am.

In August 2023, the CAC announced draft guidelines to restrict the daily smartphone use of minors aged 16 to 18 to not more than two hours, and one hour for those between 8 and 16.

Japan

In 2020, the Kagawa Prefectural Assembly in Japan passed the “Internet and Game Addiction Counter-measures Ordinance” barring children under the age of 18 from playing electronic games for more than 60 minutes on weekdays and 90 minutes on weekends and holidays.

South Korea

Last August, South Korea’s ruling People Power Party tabled a bill seeking legislation to ban primary and secondary school students from using electronic products such as smartphones at school to prevent them from being exposed to harmful social media content and becoming overly dependent on mobile devices.

Singapore

Singapore’s Code of Practice for Online Safety came into effect on July 18, 2023, requiring social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube to help curb pornography, violence, suicide and self-harm, and online harmful content such as bullying, endangering public health, and encouraging crime and organised crime.

Some believe that these actions might be orchestrated by the authorities in an attempt to suppress political rivalry and freedom of expression.

Such possibility does exist, and some governments might actually bank on such situation to advance their political intents.

That said, it should be noted that many governments have indeed come to the realisation that a digital storm is fast sweeping our world, leaving a profound impact on humanity and our future generations.

Consequently, they are now reversing their earlier decisions, calling for reduced dependence on technology.

I feel that these actions might have arrived a little too late. And worryingly, our society has yet to sense the severity of the issue, as many remain obsessed with unparalleled convenience and all the good things technology brings to humanity, and become oblivious to the potential harms that could be inflicted through over-indulgence.

The Internet has become very much an indispensable part of human existence today. Many parents are now harnessing mobile technology to assume the educational responsibility for their kids, as they themselves are hopelessly shackled by mobile addiction.

The downsides of giving children a free hand in mobile phone usage at an early age and get over-dependent on virtual learning and communication are growingly evident – compromised learning ability, concentration, social skills, along with memory loss, early onset of eye diseases, emotional instability, disrupted life routines, and even problems such as anxiety and depression.

Lack of supervision and guidance from parents could eventually lead to contorted values ​​and increased susceptibility to cyberbullying.

Germany’s Association of Public Broadcasting Corporations (ARD) and its STRG_F team has recently disclosed after a year of investigation the emergence of some gruesome “sex chat rooms” on Telegram with over 70,000 members, along with links to narcotics site posing as innocent hair product sites.

These problems will remain unresolved even if we opt to alienate ourselves from the wired world. That said, we can at least learn to reflect, sharpen our news literacy, make good use of technology, help ourselves and our children find an equilibrium between technology and life in moulding the right values, instead of voluntarily succumbing ourselves to cyber temptations.

We need to understand that social media platforms such as Facebook, X, TikTok, Instagram, Telegram, or Google are not real media. They have never been bound by the obligation to better our society in the first place.

Profitability is their sole priority, not social imperative of any sort! That explains the continuous presence of fraudulent web pages and toxic content.

In view of this, a media organisation with a keen sense of responsibility and mission must never forgo its raison d’être and be dictated by social media platforms whose primary objective is to make tonnes of money!

At times we need to deliver ourselves out of the confines of the Internet and appreciate the beauty of the big, big world outside, find solace in reading, and indulge in the many pleasures afforded by the good old books!

We must see the world with our own eyes and not just what the Internet tries to impress on us. Bear in mind that not everything we see on the screen is real.

The outer appearances of all objects may not reflect their essence. We need to feel with our own hearts in order to seek truth and equilibrium.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Sin Chew Daily’s student newspaper reading programme.

After the award presentation ceremony of the Primary School Current Affairs Quiz Competition, Primary School Short Film Production Competition and Poster Design Competition held on November 30, SJKC Sempalit Raub Year Five student Zeng Hanxing walked up to me in the company of his teacher Chen Linglin.

The teacher said smilingly, “Hanxing is a fan of you, and he wants to ask you for a copy of your book Editor’s Time.”

I took a curious close look at the young winner of the 28th Primary School Students Current Affairs Quiz Competition, and asked his father who was standing next to me: “Does he read newspapers regularly?”

The boy’s father replied: “Yes, in addition to newspapers at my mother-in-law’s house, we also buy newspapers for him to read at home.”

I felt reassured that reading has not been completely abandoned by the young generation. Parents who have visualised the many problems arising from over-indulgence in the Internet are doing everything they can to guide their children back to the old habit of reading newspapers and physical books.

As a media practitioner, I would say that our youngsters have lost their passion for news, not so much newspaper reading per se, as the people’s news literacy takes a dive.