Problem-Solution Essay Draft 3

With the recent rise of many social media platforms, it is of no surprise that social media addiction is fast becoming a problem. People with this problem tend to have a compulsive urge to surf social media excessively, to the extent that it affects their daily activities. According to an info graphic compiled by Go-Globe in 2014, there were 2.03 billion active social media users worldwide, which was a 28% global penetration. In Singapore, one of the most wired places in the world, there was a 62% active social media penetration in 2014. This figure is more than double the global penetration. Focusing on youths of ages 15 to 35, a study by Singapore Polytechnic has shown that they spend at least 5 hours a day online on average. It is easy to see how this amount of time can spiral out of control. Even more shocking is the fact that many are unaware that they are even addicted. Currently, there are treatments to help people kick their addiction to social media. However, prevention is better than cure. To prevent social media addiction amongst youths, the root cause must first be tackled and this can be done by having the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) and the Ministry of Education (MOE) collaborating in educating the youths.

Addiction to social media can be attributed to the release of dopamine, a chemical neurotransmitter associated with motivation and reward response in the human brain, whenever we receive and answer a notification. (Franceschi-Bicchierai, 2012) However, this instant gratification comes with more dire effects than expected for youths. It is affecting them in various aspects of life. Since youths are still schooling, being addicted to social media can negatively affect their grades. They are so fixated on checking for updates that their attention span decreases, making it hard to concentrate on their work or during lessons. It is ironic that social media were created to connect us more easily, but instead, they have caused us to be socially isolated and, made us lonelier than ever. Youths who are addicted to social media often have the illusion that online interaction equates to companionship, when in actual fact, it lacks the intimacy and friendship involved in the latter. Some even deem it to be of greater importance than face-to-face interaction. These youths are more prone to being obsessed with the virtual world, thereby straining their familial ties and friendships. Self-esteem issues are also a concern for those addicted. It was found that youths who spent more time online experienced more frequent feelings of inadequacy due to constant comparison with their peers on social media. (Guttmann, 2013)

The Singaporean government has identified that social media addiction can be a serious problem amongst youths. Currently, there are two counselling centres available that help with all forms of digital addiction. They are the National Addictions Management Services (NAMS) and TOUCH Community Services. Their services range from helplines, counselling sessions and education campaigns. The counselling sessions provided by NAMS seem to be very comprehensive. Not only do they have a clinic that specialises in adolescents, they also have a well-rounded team consisting of professional counsellors, psychiatrists, psychologists, family therapists and medical social workers. (NAMS, n.d.) The treatment starts with an assessment of condition, which then is followed by individual counselling and group therapy, and finally, family therapy. (NAMS, n.d.) Youths addicted to social media have very high chances of recovery when exposed to such an extensive treatment. On the other hand, TOUCH Community Services focus on awareness campaigns pertaining to different education levels under their TOUCH Cyber Wellness. They strive to encourage students to make “informed and responsible decisions in the cyber space”. (TOUCH Cyber Wellness, n.d.) These campaigns are highly interactive and tailored to the needs of specific age groups, making them effective in grabbing students’ attention.

Despite these existing services, the main problem remains that youths do not even know the symptoms of social media addiction well enough to realize that they need such treatments. Other than those who are forced by their parents to go for counselling, many youths that are in need of help are still oblivious as to how social media addiction is affecting them. They deem their behaviour to be the norm of their generation, since their peers seem to be doing the same as well. Even though there are education programmes that are implemented in schools, such as those by TOUCH Cyber Wellness, to create awareness among youths, their curricula are mostly centered around problems like gaming addiction and cyberbullying rather than social media addiction. This is why there needs to be a collaboration between MCI and MOE to come up with a more versatile awareness campaign that focuses on the traits and impacts of social media addiction so that youths can better identify themselves and take charge of their treatment. They can then recover from their addiction faster since they voluntarily went for counseling instead of being forced to do so.

In conclusion, social media addiction is an emerging problem that impedes the growth of our youths. It is a 21^st Century issue that needs to be solved before it evolves into something even more menacing, and the best way to do so would be by having a cooperation between MCI and MOE to create awareness of the issue amongst youths.  

[891 words]

References

Franceschi-Bicchierai,L. (2012, November 3). How is Facebook Addiction affecting our minds? [Infographic] Mashable. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2012/11/03/facebook-addiction/

GO-Globe. (2014, December 26). Social media addiction- Statistics and Trends. [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.go-globe.com/blog/social-media-addiction/

Guttmann, G. (2013). How does social media affect your life? [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://singapore.angloinfo.com/information/lifestyle/articles/social-media-addiction/

ReLive - Clinic for Adolescents. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nams.sg/services/Pages/Clinic-for-Adolescents.aspx

Sim, F. (2013, January 11). S'pore youths spending more time online: study. Yahoo! News. Retrieved from https://sg.news.yahoo.com/s-pore-youths-spending-more-time-online--study-100333925.html

Statista. (2014). Active social media penetration in Asian countries in October 2014 [Data file]. Retrieved from http://www.statista.com/statistics/255235/active-social-media-penetration-in-asian-countries/

Touch Community Services. (n.d.). TOUCH Cyber Wellness. Retrieved from http://www.touch.org.sg/touch_cyber_wellness

TOUCH Cyber Wellness. (n.d.). Educate. Retrieved from

http://www.planetcrush.org/programmes/educate.htm

Problem-Solution Essay Draft 2

With the recent rise of many social media platforms, it is of no surprise that social media addiction is fast becoming a problem. People with this problem tend to have a compulsive urge to surf social media excessively, to the extent that it affects their daily activities. According to an info graphic compiled by Go-Globe in 2014, there are 2.03 billion active social media users worldwide and that is a 28% global penetration. In Singapore, one of the most wired places in the world, there is a 62% active social media penetration in 2014. This figure is more than double the global penetration. Focusing on youths of ages 15 to 35, a study by Singapore Polytechnic has shown that they spend at least 5 hours a day online on average. It is easy to see how this amount of time can spiral out of control. Even more shocking is the fact that many are unaware that they are even addicted. Currently, there are treatments to help people kick their addiction to social media. However, prevention is better than cure. To prevent social media addiction amongst youths, the root cause must first be tackled and this can be done by having the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) and the Ministry of Education (MOE) collaborating in educating the youths.

Addiction to social media can be attributed to the release of dopamine, a chemical neurotransmitter associated with motivation and reward response in the human brain, whenever we receive and answer a notification. However, this instant gratification comes with more dire effects than expected for youths. It is affecting them in various aspects of life. Since youths are still schooling, being addicted to social media takes a hit on their grades. They are so fixated on checking for updates that their attention span decreases, making it hard to concentrate on their work or during lessons. It is ironic that social media were created to connect us easier, but in fact, it has isolated us from the real world and has made us lonelier than ever. Youths who are addicted to social media often have the illusion that online interaction equates to a real relationship. Some even deem it to be of greater importance than face-to-face interaction. These youths are more prone to being transfixed in the virtual world, thereby straining their familial ties and friendships. Self-esteem issues are also a concern for those addicted. It was found that youths who spent more time online experienced more frequent feelings of inadequacy due to constant comparison with their peers on social media.

The Singaporean government has identified that social media addiction can be a serious problem amongst youths. Currently, there are two counselling centres available that help with all forms of digital addiction. They are the National Addictions Management Services (NAMS) and TOUCH Community Services. Their services range from helplines, counselling sessions and education campaigns. The counselling sessions provided by NAMS seem to be very comprehensive. Not only do they have a clinic that specialises in adolescents, they also have a well-rounded team consisting of professional counsellors, psychiatrists, psychologists, family therapists and medical social workers. Youths addicted to social media have very high chances of recovery when exposed to such an extensive treatment. On the other hand, TOUCH Community Services focus on awareness campaigns pertaining to different education levels under their TOUCH Cyber Wellness. These campaigns are highly interactive and tailored to the needs of specific age groups, making them effective in grabbing students’ attention.

Despite these existing services, the main problem remains that youths do not even know the signs and symptoms of social media addiction to realize that they need such treatments. Other than those who are forced by their parents to go for counselling, many youths that are in need of help are still oblivious as to how social media addiction is affecting them. They deem their behaviour to be the norm of their generation, since everyone around them seems to be doing so too. Even though there are education programmes by TOUCH Cyber Wellness that are implemented in school to create awareness among youths, their curriculums are mostly centered around problems like gaming addiction and cyber-bullying rather than social media addiction. This is why there needs to be a collaboration between MCI and MOE to come up with a more versatile awareness campaign that focuses on the traits and impacts of social media addiction so that youths can better identify themselves and take charge of their treatment. They can then recover from their addiction faster since they voluntarily went for counseling instead of being forced to do so.

In conclusion, social media addiction is an emerging problem that impedes the growth of our youths. It is a 21^st Century issue that needs to be solved before it evolves into something even more menacing, and the best way to do so would be by having a cooperation between MCI and MOE to create awareness of the issue amongst youths.  

[827 words]

References:

Educate. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.planetcrush.org/programmes/educate.htm

GO-Globe. (2014, December 26). Social media addiction- Statistics and Trends. [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.go-globe.com/blog/social-media-addiction/

Guttmann, G. (2013). How does social media affect your life? [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://singapore.angloinfo.com/information/lifestyle/articles/social-media-addiction/

ReLive - Clinic for Adolescents. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nams.sg/services/Pages/Clinic-for-Adolescents.aspx

Sim, F. (2013, January 11). S'pore youths spending more time online: study. Yahoo! News. Retrieved from https://sg.news.yahoo.com/s-pore-youths-spending-more-time-online--study-100333925.html

Statista. (2014). Active social media penetration in Asian countries in October 2014 [Data file]. Retrieved from http://www.statista.com/statistics/255235/active-social-media-penetration-in-asian-countries/

Touch Cyber Wellness. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.touch.org.sg/touch_cyber_wellness

Problem-Solution Essay Draft 1

Since the widespread usage of the Internet in the 1990s, Internet addiction disorder has been a continuing problem till now. With the recent rise of social media, it is of no surprise that social media addiction is fast becoming a problem as well. People with this problem tend to have a compulsive urge to surf social media excessively that it affects their daily activities. According to an info graphic complied by Go-Globe in 2014, there are 2.03 billion active social media users worldwide and that is 28% global penetration. In Singapore, being one of the most wired places, the rate of Singaporean picking up social media doubled from 12 % in 2008 to 23 % in 2009 in just a year, according to a Nielsen study. Focusing on the youth group with the age range of 15-19, they spend at least 5 hours a day on average online. It is easy to see how this amount of time can spiral out of control. Even shocking is the fact that many are unaware that they might be addicted. Due to the sharp increase in social media addiction cases among youths, other than existing treatment to kick the habit, the more important solution is for the Ministry of Communications and Information and the Ministry of Education to collaborate with each other and educate the youths first.

The reason behind social media addiction has been attributed to the release of dopamine, a chemical neurotransmitter associated with motivation and reward response in the human brain, whenever we received and answered a notification.  However, this instant gratification came with more dire effects than expected for youths. It is affecting them in various aspects of life. Since youths are still schooling, being addicted to social media takes a hit on their grades. They are so fixated on checking for updates that their attention span have decreased, making it hard to concentrate on their work. Also, it is ironic that social media was created to connect us easier but instead, has isolated us from the real world and made us lonelier than ever. Youths who are addicted to social media often have the illusion that online interaction equates to a real relationship and even place it higher than face-to-face interaction. They are more prone to being trapped in the virtual world and this strains family ties and friendship. This also leads to self-esteem issues. It is found that youths who spent more time online experienced more frequent feelings of inadequacy due to constant comparison with their peers on social media.

In Singapore, the government has identified that social media addiction can be a serious problem for our youths. Currently, there are two counseling centres available to help with all forms of digital addiction. They are the National Addictions Management Services and Touch Community Services. Their services range from helplines, counseling sessions and education campaigns. There are also private professional counseling groups with psychiatrists to provide treatments to those with severe addiction. However, the main problem is that youths do not even know the symptoms of social media addiction to realize that they need the treatments. Other than those being forced by their parents to go for counseling, many of those in need are still oblivious to how social media addiction is affecting them. They deem their behaviors to be the norm of their generation, as everyone around them seems to be doing it too. The education campaigns in school are mostly centered around problems like gaming addiction and cyber-bullying rather than social media addiction. This is why there needs to be a collaboration between the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) and the Ministry of Education (MOE) to come up with a more versatile awareness campaign that focuses on the traits and impacts of social media addiction so that youths can better identify themselves and take charge of their treatment. They can also recover from the addiction faster when they self-voluntarily go for counseling rather than being forced.

In conclusion, social media addiction is a serious problem that not only impedes the growth of our youths and also cause other related problems like cyber-bullying, over-sharing and depression. It is quite a 21^st century issue that needs to be solved before proliferating into something even more menace.