THOUGH there are many problems that can come about from spending time online, two which plague Malaysian teenagers are excessive online gaming and viewing pornography online.
During the National Counsellor Workshop 2018, Heriot-Watt University Malaysia (HWUM) provost and chief executive officer Prof Mushtak Al-Atabi says these “challenging” Internet behaviours are a by-product of technology.
According to a study by HWUM for the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), only 2% of the 599 teenagers surveyed demonstrated problematic online gaming behaviours.
“According to our findings, some of the possible factors that contribute to online gaming are boredom and lack of family support,” says principal investigator of the study Assoc Prof Dr Ke Guek Nee.
She adds that about 9% of secondary school students spent more than 10-hours a week gaming online.
She labels this group as those with a serious problem and are the target of the intervention programme.
Dr Ke also says that 63% played games on their smartphones but adds that this is not surprising as children are exposed to mobile devices even before they enter preschool.
The grant awarded by MCMC was for a research project “A Framework for Cyber Wellness Centre: Preventive Intervention Programmes for Problematic Internet Behaviours” in collaboration with the Education Ministry.
Education Ministry School Division Counselling Department head Saiful Effendi Mohd Zahari says the intervention programmes are needed because these problems are becoming common.
“Internet abuse can lead to addiction and become problematic Internet behaviour.”
Saiful Effendi adds that those suffering from the addiction prefer to connect with others “through the Internet as a substitute to real life connections, which they are unable to achieve normally”.
“We want these problems to be handled in the correct manner,” he says, referring to the two new intervention programmes designed by HWUM for excessive online gaming and viewing pornography online.
Dr Ke says the programme consists of eight sessions, each 60-minutes long.
On Tuesday, Bernama reported that Deputy Health Minister Dr Lee Boon Chye said the Government is looking into measures to limit Internet access for teenagers under 17-years-old from midnight until 6am.
He said, during the Dewan Rakyat session, that this was part of its efforts to curb addiction to videogames and social media among teenagers in the country.
He also said that a survey by the National Health and Morbidity in 2017 showed that 34.9% of teenagers aged 13 to 17 were addicted to the Internet.
The research project ultimately aims to formulate intervention programmes with the aim of fostering a healthy cyber culture among the youths of Malaysia.
There are also plans to open the first Cyber Wellness Centre in the country, which will make use of the intervention programmes.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Get 20% OFF The Star Digital Access
Cancel anytime. Ad-free. Unlimited access with perks.
