KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 5 – Seven out of 10 Malaysians want social media banned for children under 14 years old, second highest after Indonesia, according to a survey conducted by global leader in market research, Ipsos.
In a statement on Thursday, Ipsos noted that 71 per cent of the Malaysian respondents agreed that children under 14 should be banned from using social media both inside and outside of school, while Indonesia recorded a total of 79 per cent.
The survey also found that 51 per cent of Malaysians agreed that children of the same age should be banned from using smartphones both inside and outside of school, while 29 per cent agreed that they should also be banned from using ChatGPT.
On the responsibility to teach digital literacy and online safety topics, the survey found that 56 per cent of Malaysians believed teachers and schools should shoulder the responsibility while 39 per cent agreed that the responsibility fell on the parents.
The survey findings also revealed that Malaysians believed the country’s education quality is improving, but less than half perceived it as a good quality system with 44 per cent of the respondents rating the overall quality of the education system in the country as good, followed by neither (29 per cent) and poor (25 per cent).
According to the statement, many Malaysians believe that the curriculum should place more emphasis on new technology.
“In Singapore and Indonesia, opinions are more balanced, with a slight preference for the current curriculum. One out of five Malaysians believe that new technologies already take up too much space,” the statement said.
The survey also found that 42 per cent of Malaysians agreed that the school curriculum in the country gives too little space for technologies while 27 per cent think just enough space and 20 per cent agreed to too much space.
The survey entitled ‘Malaysians’ opinions on technology in education’ was based on online interviews with over 23,754 adults under the age of 75 across 30 countries, conducted from June 21 to July 5 this year.
