Excessive online gaming, cyberbullying and children’s exposure to online betting are creating a need for stronger child-protection measures in Sri Lanka, consultant psychiatrist Dr. Rumi Ruben has warned.
Children who spend long hours online face a cluster of overlapping risks, Ruben said — gaming addiction, harassment by strangers, cyberbullying and exposure to gambling-related content, according to the Daily Mirror.
Online gaming has become increasingly popular among children, he said, but playing to excess can damage sleep, schooling, social relationships and mental well-being. Children may also spend money on in-game purchases without understanding the financial consequences.
Cyberbullying is a growing concern in its own right, with children exposed to insults, threats, humiliation and harassment through social media, messaging applications and gaming platforms.
Betting advertising reaches children
The increasing visibility of online betting and gambling advertising has raised concerns that children are encountering gambling content at an early age. The spread of smartphones and digital payment methods makes that content easier to reach, and easier to act on.
Ruben said parents and teachers need to pay closer attention to what children do online, and to teach them how to recognise, avoid and report harmful behaviour. Technology platforms and the authorities also have a role in keeping inappropriate material away from children and protecting them from abuse, he said.
Warnings arriving alongside enforcement
The advice lands in the same week that Sri Lankan police moved against the criminal end of the same problem. Officers are pursuing organised social media groups trading explicit images of women and children, and a young man arrested in Beliatta over the administration of such groups was granted bail this week; police have opened an email channel for the public to report obscene online content.
The concerns are not confined to Sri Lanka. Meta agreed a multibillion-dollar settlement over claims its platforms harmed young users, in a case that turned on the same questions of platform responsibility Ruben raises.
The Daily Mirror did not cite prevalence data for gaming addiction, cyberbullying or underage gambling in Sri Lanka, and named no study behind the warning. No other verified Sri Lankan newsroom had carried its own report of his remarks at the time of writing.
