No Net for teens between midnight and 6am?

KUALA LUMPUR: The government is looking at emulating Japan and South Korea by barring Internet access to those under 17 between midnight and 6am.

Deputy Health Minister Dr Lee Boon Chye said the initiative was among measures being studied by the government to curb teen addiction to online gaming and social media applications.

“The government is studying whether such a measure can be carried out here,” he said.

“There are also gaming providers that prevent users under 17 from accessing their games for one to two hours.

“These are among the steps being studied to ensure that video game addiction can be brought under control,” he said.

Dr Lee was responding to a question from Lukanisman Awang Sauni (Gabungan Parti Sarawak-Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu-Sibuti) in the Dewan Rakyat on whether addiction to games and social media applications was categorised as mental problems.

The deputy minister said the country’s Health and Morbidity Studies last year showed that 34.9 per cent of children between 13 and 17 showed a prevalence towards Internet addiction.

He said checks by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission on Internet usage trends last year showed that 80 per cent of the 24.1 million users used the Internet for social media.

“Checks showed that an average user spends about four hours online daily,” he said.

He said addiction to video games and social media applications could have a negative impact on individuals, apart from being habit-forming.

He said updates from the World Health Organisation in its International Classification of Diseases (11th series) stated that video game addiction was listed as a mental health illness.

“Social media addiction was previously classified as a mental disturbance.”