South Korea's Broadcasting Media Communications Commission said on May 28 it held a meeting in Seoul to discuss the extent of social media (SNS) overuse among children and teenagers and measures to address it.

The meeting was held in the form of expert presentations and open discussion, with 7 participants including major parent groups, current middle and high school teachers and experts.

Seong Uk-je (성욱제), a research fellow at the Information and Communication Policy Institute, gave a presentation titled "Social media addiction among children and teenagers, holding platforms accountable for design responsibility". He pointed to harmful effects of increased SNS use on children and teenagers' physical and mental health and functional problems in services, and introduced overseas policy cases.

Parents voiced concern about side effects such as reduced concentration due to their children's SNS overuse, and stressed the need for safeguards in SNS functions that lead to excessive immersion and addiction. Teachers cited issues such as lack of sleep and relationship conflict stemming from excessive SNS use, and said it is important to foster a culture of responsible use by combining platform design improvements with education in self-control, rather than simply banning use.

All participants agreed that to resolve SNS overuse among children and teenagers, government policies and efforts by platform companies should go hand in hand, based on support from schools and families.

Commission Chairman Kim Jong-cheol (김종철) said SNS overuse is not an individual issue but one that all members of society should pay attention to and respond to. He said it is important to create an environment where children and teenagers can use SNS safely, considering that they are holders of basic rights such as freedom of expression and the right to know.