'She was trying to hide it'

Online harms lead to some parents wanting social media ban

- Osmond Chia Sarah Koh

When asset manager Look Ru Shin noticed her daughter, then aged 10, glued to her phone, something felt off.

"She was trying to hide it," Madam Look, 46, recalled.

A closer look revealed that her daughter, Claire, had received inappropriate messages from a stranger on Minecraft. "I immediately deleted her account and the app," she said.

The incident heightened Madam Look's concerns about harms online that she had seen, such as warped beauty standards and sexualised content, and their detrimental impact on children.

Many parents stand with her in wishing to see more handholding when it comes to online usage for children, but are torn on what the most effective measures should be.

Regulators globally are at a crossroads with online platforms and harmful content that plagues social media, games and other apps.

Many nations, including Britain, European countries, Indonesia and Singapore are mulling over age restrictions - with some even considering outright bans on social media for teenagers.

Australia has led the charge, passing a ban that will kick in later in 2025, to outlaw social media for teenagers under 16.

Singapore's Minister of State for Digital Development and Information Rahayu Mahzam said in Parliament in January that Singapore shares the same objectives as Australia in legislating age limits for social media access - to protect young users and is in talks with the country over Australia's approach.

The Republic's approach - for now - targets app stores and app creators, who are required to follow standards under codes of practice to address harms on their platforms or face penalties like a fine of up to $1 million or be blocked here.

App stores have until March 2026 to set up technology that can check users' age - a key measure in keeping children away from mature apps.