#HEALTH: Excessive screen time causes "popcorn brain"

THE digital world, while offering enormous benefits, also carries risks that young people may not yet have the maturity to manage.

Australia introduced its under-16 social media restrictions in December last year, while Malaysia began implementing similar restrictions in June this year.

The scale of the problem is alarming. In Australia, about 4.7 million accounts belonging to under-16s were restricted or removed following the introduction of the new rules.

The move reflects growing concerns over cyberbullying, harmful content, excessive screen use, peer pressure and the addictive nature of algorithm driven platforms.

Psychiatrist and assistant professor at the International Islamic University Malaysia's department of psychiatry, kulliyyah of medicine, Dr Hijaz Ridzwan, says children below 16 are still undergoing important emotional development and are more vulnerable to impulsive decisions, peer pressure and social influence.

This is particularly worrying on social media, where children can encounter content and interactions they may not have the emotional maturity to understand or handle.

The problem doesn't start with children accessing social media, but much earlier, when parents hand over a smartphone or tablet simply to keep a child quiet during meals, in restaurants, in the car or at home.

Dr Hijaz stresses that children learn the unwritten rules and social customs of life from parents, how to communicate, show respect, take turns and understand others through observation and real-world interaction, not from a screen.
The term "popcorn brain" has become popular for describing the effects of constant exposure to rapid digital stimulation. Although it is not a recognised medical condition, the underlying concern is real, he explains.

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Excessive screen use can displace sleep, physical activity and meaningful human interaction, potentially affecting concentration, communication, emotional regulation and problem-solving.

"The issue is not that smartphones inevitably cause permanent brain damage, but that too much screen time, especially at a young age, can deprive children of real-world experiences essential to their development."

This concern is increasingly reflected in education policy. Finland has moved to restrict mobile phone use in schools, while encouraging greater use of traditional learning methods.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation reported in March that 114 education systems, representing 58 per cent of countries, had national policies banning mobile phones in schools.

Dr Hijaz says the message is clear: technology should support learning, not become a constant source of distraction.
There is also a much darker side to children's online exposure. A United Nations Children's Fund study involving about 21,000 children aged 12 to 17 across 21 countries estimated that around 20 million Internet-using children experienced online sexual exploitation or abuse in one year.

About 15 million encountered unwanted sexual content, while nine million were coerced into sexual conversations or image sharing.

Around four million had explicit images shared without consent, and an estimated 1.1 million children were affected by artificial intelligence-generated sexual imagery.

These figures demonstrate that protecting children online is not simply about preventing them from wasting time. It is also about protecting them from genuine physical, psychological and social dangers.

"Children need technology, but they also need books, outdoor play, conversation, imagination and boredom. They need to learn how to wait, communicate, concentrate and solve problems without immediately reaching for a screen."

Giving a child a smartphone may buy parents 30 minutes of peace, but childhood is not supposed to be about keeping children silent and entertained.

The greatest danger is not that our children will know too little about technology, he adds, but that they may know too much about screens and too little about the real world.