Cross-Ministry Collaboration to Tackle Problematic Gaming amongst Youths

12 Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Minister for Education given that problematic gaming intersects mental health, education, student welfare and youth social development (a) whether the Ministry can elaborate on the current framework for cross-ministry coordination on this issue; and (b) whether preventive policy has emerged as a joint strategic priority.

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education (Dr Syed Harun Alhabsyi) (for the Minister for Education): The Ministry of Education (MOE) works closely with other Government agencies to support students' mental well-being and healthy engagement with digital media. The inter-agency efforts indeed span from preventive education to intervention and treatment.

MOE's Cyber Wellness lessons for primary to pre-university students teach the importance of maintaining a healthy balance of online and offline activities, and guide students to be discerning users of technology. This includes learning to manage their use of social media and online games, to recognise risks in the digital space and to manage negative influences. Schools identify students with gaming concerns and refer them, with parental consent where required, to social service agencies (SSAs) for early intervention or to the National Addiction Management Service (NAMS) under the Institute of Mental Health for assessment and treatment.

Beyond schools, we recognise that parents, too, play a critical role in guiding their children at home. MOE has partnered the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) and the Health Promotion Board to develop the Parenting for Wellness resources to equip parents with parenting knowledge and strategies. These include recognising the signs of excessive gaming, for example, increased levels of anxiety and excessive in-app purchases; and working with their child to counter excessive gaming by engaging in screen-free activities.

In addition, the Ministry of Digital Development and Information, MOE and MSF co-developed the "Positive Use Guide on Technology and Social Media", which includes practical tips on limiting gaming activities. Relevant content of the guide is reinforced through MOE's Cyber Wellness lessons and also shared with parents.

Mr Speaker: Mr Yip.

Mr Yip Hon Weng (Yio Chu Kang): Thank you, Mr Speaker. I thank the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for his reply. As a parent of five kids, I can attest that gaming is indeed very addictive for school-going children. Once they are given the devices and screens, they can be gaming for hours.

I just have two short supplementary questions, which are: can I clarify that MOE is indeed the lead agency involved because there are many Ministries involved in this area and MOE has clear lead ownership and outcome accountability on this particular issue? And has the Government engaged gaming platforms on addictive design features?

Dr Syed Harun Alhabsyi: I thank the Member for his supplementary questions, as well as his concern. Indeed, as parents, many of us are concerned about the impact of gaming on the development of the child.

With regard to the nature of addressing problematic gaming, indeed, it is a multi-agency approach which I have shared earlier. While MOE focuses on the preventive aspect towards encouraging our students having proper habits in engaging with the online space, you find that we take a calibrated approach to the level according to the age of the students. For example, at the primary levels, we nurture our students to learn good habits in terms of safe online practices and respectful online relationships. At secondary school, we look at learning about safety and empathy in relating to others, both online and offline. And in the post-secondary levels, we focus on the skills that are reinforced as students learn about cyber ethics, cyber citizenship and the positive role that they can play in the digital future.

In terms of where they require subsequent care, certainly MOE works with the different partners and it takes a "many helping hands" approach. That is why, also in terms of the engagement with our colleagues from MOH, when it comes to the mental healthcare of the students who have problematic gaming in the mental wellness space, that is where we have partnerships as well. In terms of the regulatory aspects of managing the online space, the Government has progressively introduced measures to better protect users, in particular, children when they go online over the years. We have made some of the regulatory changes, in particular in 2022, with the Broadcasting Act, the introduction of the Code of Practice for Online Safety that was promulgated by the Infocomm Media Development Authority for social media services, and later in 2025, also with app distribution services.

As to the Member's question about whether MOE is indeed the lead agency, it really takes a "many helping hands" approach because the issue spans quite broadly, throughout society, as well as the interface that we have with the challenges online.

The Member's third question is actually subsumed in the last part of my reply. In terms of the engagement with the gaming platforms, we do not, at least currently, engage them directly as a Ministry in terms of how they promulgate the nature of gaming to make it less addictive. I think it is within the remit of the gaming platforms to decide. But we do have regulatory levers at this point of time through the Broadcasting Act, as well as the Code of Practice for Online Safety, as mentioned earlier.