Smartphone Addiction among Young Children and Teenagers

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Mr Murali Pillai

MP for Bukit Batok GRC

Question No. 2092

To ask the Minister for Health whether the Ministry is concerned about the increasing trend of smartphone addiction especially amongst young children and teenagers and what are the steps it intends to take to arrest the situation.

Written Reply 

1        Smartphone addiction is not a medical diagnosis under the international classifications such as the World Health Organisation’s (WHO’s) International Classification of Diseases[1] (ICD) and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders[2]. 

2        Nevertheless, some children and teenagers do seek help in healthcare institutions for possible smartphone addiction and some of them have been diagnosed with impulse disorders[3].  Based on data from the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) and the Response, Early Intervention, Assessment in Community mental Health (REACH) teams, the number of young patients diagnosed with impulse disorders did not show any upward trend between 2013 and 2017.  IMH reported an average of about 46 cases per year, and REACH teams reported an average of 14 cases per year.  The figures however encompass various types of impulse disorders as there is no specific diagnosis for smartphone addiction. 

3        IMH’s National Addictions Management Service (NAMS) has put in place measures on addictions related to the use of smartphones.  These include education through outreach efforts at various schools and improving awareness amongst the general public on behavioural addictions through various media platforms such as print and radio as well as during the National Addictions Awareness Day.  There are also intervention services for young children and teenagers who experience related problems such as gaming addiction.  NAMS provides assessment on the severity of the condition and offers treatment, such as counselling to overcome such addictions. Beyond NAMS, there are also services available in the community provided by REACH, Community Health Assessment Teams (CHAT) and TOUCH Community Services.

[1] 10th Edition

[2] 5th Edition

[3] Impulse disorders are characterised by the repeated failure to resist an impulse, drive or urge to perform an act that is rewarding to the person in the short-term, despite consequences such as longer-term harm either to the individual or to others, marked distress about the behavior pattern, or significant impairment in personal, social, or other important areas of functioning.