KUCHING: Parental supervision and education are far more important than imposing a blanket ban on smartphones for teenagers, says Dr Ammar Redza Ahmad Rizal.
The Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) senior lecturer said multiple international studies had shown that the effectiveness of total smartphone bans among students remained inconclusive, pointing instead to the importance of etiquette and responsible usage.
He asserted that unsupervised smartphone use late at night had been linked to higher risks of cyberbullying, highlighting the need for parents to monitor their children’s behaviour.
“The point is not about banning smartphones, but about the etiquette of using them.
“Several studies indicated that unsupervised smartphone usage until late night can increase chances of cyberbullying among teenagers. Thus, parent supervision is more important.
“Teenagers must also be taught not to become bystanders when they see cyberbullying occur, because a bystander is never better than the bully itself,” he said when contacted recently.
Ammar warned that a ban would only shift the venue of bullying to other platforms such as tablets or personal computers, while parents remained unaware of their children’s online activity.
He stressed that equipping and educating parents was paramount to curbing the problem, alongside consistent national awareness campaigns on the consequences of cyberbullying.
He also suggested that such initiatives should not be one-off efforts, but constant reminders, including the possibility of a national remembrance day.
“If you ban smartphones, teenagers will just use another platform. So, you can stop bullying on smartphones, but it will change the venue to other devices.
“The government can incentivise parents who are proactive in educating and guiding their children on cyberbullying or mental health issues.
“There must also be more courses and subjects on this issue to be explored nationally,” he added.
He added that values and moral education must remain central, but government policies could also reinforce a stronger family culture.
Among the measures he suggested were allowing parents more relaxed rules to bring children to workplaces, expanding flexible work-from-home policies and introducing incentives for parent-child engagement.
“Perhaps these efforts could begin with listed companies, making family-friendly practices a compulsory part of their environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting.
“All of this can be implemented rather than imposing a blanket ban of smartphones,” he added.
