For kids, 'Nomo' better than 'Fomo' - Fahmi tells TikTok, FB

 

Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil has asked social media giants including Tiktok and Facebook to self-regulate so that algorithms prevent children from being overexposed.

The Lembah Pantai MP pointed out that the impact on children who grow up using social media is still unknown.

“In a meeting with many social media companies recently such as TikTok, Meta (Facebook), and Google (YouTube), I stressed that we have to take care of algorithms, especially for children.

“If possible, children under the age of 13 shouldn’t use social media at all, and should go out and play football or have fun with friends,” he told the podcast "Ini Kopi Kita: Sembang Anak Malaysia" organised by the Information Department.

Fahmi said people need to balance the desire to know the latest things and not be obsessed with always being the first to know and spread current trends on social media.

“So, I think we need to limit it, it's not a matter of Fomo (fear of missing out), but for me, for children, it should be ‘Nomo (no more)’,” he added.

The minister reminded users that social media only aims to generate profit on their behalf through the content they share such as personal information and photos.

Oversharing

Host Nur Fazura Sharifuddin said that as an entrepreneur, it is common to follow current trends to promote a company's products.

“But, personally, I don’t ‘jump on the trend’.

“Maybe because we are afraid of being left behind, we share a lot of personal things on social media.

“There are parents who show where their children go to school, together with the school badge, so we have to be careful for the safety of our children,” she added.

Fazura, who is a celebrity, shared that she is also exposed to fake news and defamatory content about herself as well as the unauthorised use of her name and image to sell products not from her company.

“We have to have a ‘bulletproof mind’ against accusations or false news about us, don’t include it in our thoughts.

“On social media, we can filter content that is not true, and in real life, we have to do the same thing,” she said.

‘Slander is faster than fast internet’

For Fahmi, the public needs to adopt an attitude of not rushing to share all the information that reaches them.

He urged people to confirm the validity of the information.

“We have to practise the attitude to pause when information comes that we cannot verify. Don’t rush to share it but verify the validity of the information first.

“We have fast internet, but slander is faster,” he said.