New survey to evaluate social media impact on children's behaviour

Muscat: An opinion poll aimed at establishing a national framework for addressing social media usage among children has been launched by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) in Oman.

This survey will help in the development of national plans and programmes to regulate children’s social media usage, contribute to raising awareness among families about the importance of monitoring their children’s online activities, and provide valuable data to policy makers regarding children’s online behaviour.

Commonly used applications

Continuing until February 20, the survey aims to identify the most commonly used applications by children, gauge the extent to which families monitor their usage of these platforms, assess their impact on children’s behaviour, determine the areas where social media applications are most utilised, and establish appropriate age guidelines for their usage.

The survey sample consists of about 2,500 male and female citizens aged 18 years and above from various governorates of the Sultanate of Oman of diverse educational backgrounds, enabling the acquisition of estimates for most indicators at the aggregate level.

More than 95 percent of Omani children own electronic devices, according to a study conducted by the Ministry of Social Development (MoD), in 2020.

Human societies have witnessed an increase in the use of social media in recent years, especially the use of it by children, and their influence on the content presented.

The greatest role in the process of socialisation falls on the family and school, especially during the first years of a child’s life.