KUALA LUMPUR, March 9 — Children in Malaysia are spending more than eight hours a day accessing the internet via smartphones or other gadgets, highlighting low parental awareness in monitoring online and social media use among minors.

Norrazlina Nordin, director of the Perlis Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), said children are heavily influenced by entertaining online content, particularly on social media and YouTube, according to a report published in Utusan Malaysia today.

“This is why MCMC emphasises the importance of parental control over gadgets. Families can set internet usage limits via smartphones or home wifi,” she said during the Safe Internet Campaign@Ramadan Bazaar 2026 in Arau.

Norrazlina noted that the campaign also involves parent-teacher associations (PIBG) and students to raise awareness. 

Information on age-appropriate online content is provided to parents to help them monitor and guide their children’s internet use.

She added that MCMC completed its Safe Internet Campaign across all schools in Perlis last year.