tags - Sinar Daily

Police officers and personnel take their oath during the 219th Police Day commemoration 2026 at the Terengganu police headquarters, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA). – Bernama photo

Children’s and adolescents’ perceptions of situations occurring around them also play a role, especially if the incident involves something extremely heartbreaking and life-threatening. - Photo illustrated by Sinar Daily

Three sisters were found dead after jumping from a residential building on the outskirts of New Delhi, India, early Wednesday morning, reportedly following a family dispute over restrictions on playing Korean-themed digital games.

The government is reportedly targeting all social media platforms to implement digital user identity verification (eKYC) by the end of the second quarter of 2026 to enforce the minimum age requirement for account registration. - Photo illustrated by Sinar Daily

A teenager holds a mobile phone displaying a message from social media platform Instagram after the account was locked for age verification in Sydney on December 9, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

Recent studies show that nine in ten children now have social media accounts and average a staggering eight hours a day on platforms like TikTok and YouTube. - Photo illustrated by Sinar Daily

The government’s recent proposal to set a minimum age of 16 for social media use has drawn widespread public attention, prompting debate from multiple angles - responsibility, safety, present realities and the future of the younger generation.

Today’s content exposure landscape has undergone a fundamental shift, making regulatory efforts increasingly challenging in a borderless digital era.

Concerns over foreign digital content on streaming platforms containing LGBTQ and other deviant elements have raised alarms about their potential impact on children and adolescents, particularly those still in the process of forming their personal identity.

Universiti Utara Malaysia School of Applied Psychology, Social Work and Policy criminologist and senior lecturer Dr Zalmizy Hussin