[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/social-media-opens-doors-for-teens-during-lockdown\/#NewsArticle","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/social-media-opens-doors-for-teens-during-lockdown\/","headline":"Social media opens doors for teens during lockdown","name":"Social media opens doors for teens during lockdown","description":"The alarm screams. You open your sleep-ladened eyelids and stretch towards the nightstand to reach for your phone to flick on Instagram (IG).\u00a0 As you brush your teeth, you scroll through your Facebook newsfeed to catch up on what you had missed while you were asleep.\u00a0 Breakfast is spent with your constant companion, TikTok and […]","datePublished":"2021-11-02","dateModified":"2022-04-16","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/peter_yeo\/#Person","name":"Eugene Qoi","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/peter_yeo\/","identifier":373,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0b33bbee472c0d748caf4022b7430e53602d350ee2d06517cb16d903340cca5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0b33bbee472c0d748caf4022b7430e53602d350ee2d06517cb16d903340cca5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"TheHomeGround Asia","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","width":640,"height":640}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/1635828177931_S3_featured_image_Kelly.jpg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/1635828177931_S3_featured_image_Kelly.jpg","height":626,"width":1280},"url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/social-media-opens-doors-for-teens-during-lockdown\/","commentCount":"1","comment":[{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/social-media-opens-doors-for-teens-during-lockdown\/#Comment1","dateCreated":"2026-07-05 07:50:00","description":"Thank you for your sharing. I am worried that I lack creative ideas. It is your article that makes me full of hope. Thank you. But, I have a question, can you help me?","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Binance\u63a8\u8350\u4ee3\u7801","url":"https:\/\/www.binance.bh\/register?ref=L4EUT9FG"}}],"about":["Community","Health & Wellness","Local","Singapore"],"wordCount":1239,"keywords":["mental health","social media","teens"],"articleBody":"The alarm screams.You open your sleep-ladened eyelids and stretch towards the nightstand to reach for your phone to flick on Instagram (IG).\u00a0As you brush your teeth, you scroll through your Facebook newsfeed to catch up on what you had missed while you were asleep.\u00a0Breakfast is spent with your constant companion, TikTok and the cycle repeats throughout the day as you try to \u201cone up\u201d over your friends on social media with your latest photos or videos. You can\u2019t wait for a break in work or school to check on your \u201clike\u201d scores. You tell yourself \u201cjust one post on IG\u201d and get extremely lost in it for hours.\u00a0The last thing you see as you drift off to sleep is your favourite social media and dream of becoming the next big influencer.If that is you, then you are definitely addicted to your devices and to social media.\u00a0Third highest internet penetrationAccording to Statista, Singapore has the third highest number of internet users in Southeast Asia. The research also finds that children get their first internet-connected devices when they are about eight years old, well under the global age of 10. This makes our children one of the youngest in the world to go online.Another survey by Statista underscores the use of social media in Singapore. An estimated 3 in 5 users say they regularly visit a social media platform, with YouTube, WhatsApp and Facebook, leading the pack at more than 80 per cent penetration.\u00a0Teens like Matin catch up on social media using laptops and mobile devices. (Photo courtesy of Matt)Threat to mental health\u00a0According to The Straits Times, mental health experts and social workers say such constant attention to social media may lead to feelings of inferiority or inadequacy.\u00a0 Majority of youths cannot help but compare themselves with peers on social media, says Mr Cho Ming Xiu, founder and executive director of non-profit mental advocacy Campus PSY. \u201cThe constant competition emphasised by social media channels and by their peers \u2014 especially when\u00a0 everyone is posting about good things \u2014 exacerbates competition, and young people find it stressful,\u201d he tells the Singapore daily.\u00a0This is certainly the case among the handful of teens TheHomeGround Asia spoke to. Seventeen-year-old Nisa Roszaini, for one, feels some of the people on social media have better lives than her. However, she is not pressured to buy more things \u201cto be just like them\u201d, she says. Thirteen-year-old Megan, who declines to give her real name, says she envies the people she follows online and is aware it is not healthy.\u00a0Big Tech under fireIn recent weeks, social media giants TikTok, YouTube and Snap have been put in the spotlight following a revelation that Facebook has put profits over people by a whistleblower. She\u00a0has\u00a0accused CEO Mark Zuckerberg of pushing for higher profits while being cavalier about user safety. TikTok, YouTube and Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, sought to distance themselves from Facebook saying their products are different from the tech giant, reported CNET.\u00a0The teens who spoke to TheHomeGround Asia typically spend between two and eight hours a day on social media. Fourteen-year-old Qamara Mohd Zabid says she spends up to eight hours on weekdays and between 10 and 11 hours on weekends. Her 16-year-old brother Abdul Matin Mohd Zabid, on the other hand, spends only 10 to 20 minutes a day catching up on memes and texts.\u00a0The teens themselves noted that time spent on social media has gone up considerably for most of them during the pandemic. This was exacerbated by Home-based Learning, online assignments, school group chats and online tuition that took over face-to-face learning during the lockdown, says thirteen-year-old David Ooi. His screen time shot up to 10 hours from just two to three before Covid-19.Pandemic-fuelled social mediaThe ever-changing rules during the pandemic has led to a different way of consuming social media, says the founder of CyberCognizanz, Dr Anuradha Rao, in a CNA opinion piece. She shares a Kantar study on global media habits which found that millions of people have turned to social media to connect with family, friends and colleagues, and to keep up with news on the pandemic.Dr Rao claims the way social media consumption has shifted from a narcissistic use to a public service-oriented one. This is seen in myriad ways such as sharing information from governments; offering help, support and (free) resources; sharing messages of solidarity and hope; and expressing concern for and helping the less fortunate.\u00a0Locally, social initiatives such as Hawkers United were set up to help hawkers affected by the dine-in restrictions. Online charity, Mind The Gap raised more than S$1 million to help families in Singapore get over the pandemic crunch. Singaporeans had also the option to donate their SingapoRediscover vouchers to migrant workers who were out of work.\u00a0Opening doors during lockdownsEven 17-year-old Wardell (not his real name), an enterprising youth, created study sessions using Discord to motivate other teens while they work on individual projects. \u201cIt works like a charm since we are free to enter \u201cdeep focus\u201d mode by muting ourselves and \u201csocial mode\u201d when we chat during breaks,\u201d he says.\u00a0Wardell engages with his online friends on IG in his cosy room. (Photo courtesy of Wardell) However, social media can still continue to be toxic as many people broke the rules during the Circuit Breaker period for \u201cstreet cred\u201d just to show how much fun they were still having despite the lockdown.\u00a0Xavier Lim, 20, also says social media use has led him to feel \u201ccooped up\u201d and inadequate. \u201cWhen I spend time (on social media) late at night, I see people living the life I\u2019ve always wanted, and it makes me feel like I could be doing more than what I am currently doing. I\u2019ll scroll through my feeds until I fall asleep and repeat it all the following night,\u201d he says.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0All of the young people we had spoken to say unequivocally they miss their friends when schools shut. Turning to social media gives them opportunities to bond, albeit virtually. They gather over Discord to binge-watch K-dramas or anime or hold virtual Netflix parties. They would also reach out to friends when they spot something amiss and offer a listening ear or a shoulder to cry on.\u00a0Mindful of the dangers of extended time spent on social media, teens also try to stop each other if they notice someone has not logged out after prolonged periods.Real connectionsThe teens also feel that some of the social media accounts such as @gochuzhe and @danlok have become more authentic and engaging on a real level. Eighteen-year-old Solana Mendoza says she feels more engaged on social media and it has given her an emotional outlet to relieve stress during the pandemic.\u00a0Solana pictured with her Singapore Special Miso, the subject of her account @miso_special on IG. (Photo courtesy of Solana)She creates content on her dog account @miso_special and conducts giveaways sponsored by small dog businesses. Xavier also says he has learned a lot about start-ups through social accounts during the pandemic. He hopes to grow his own account by sharing his academic or entrepreneurial successes in the future.\u00a0\u201cThrough social media, I\u2019ve learned to discover myself and find what is right for me \u2014 and plan for my future,\u201d he says.\u00a0Join the conversations on TheHomeGround Asia’s Facebook and Instagram, and get the latest updates via Telegram."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Destinations","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Singapore","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/\/singapore\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Social media opens doors for teens during lockdown","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/social-media-opens-doors-for-teens-during-lockdown\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]