A group of educators asked people aged 15 to 30 to stay off Facebook and TikTok for 54 hours. By the second day, many were already breaking the pledge, offering a glimpse into how deeply social media has become embedded in young people's daily lives.

The findings were presented at a recent conference in Hanoi on social media and the mental health of children and adolescents, which called for urgent action on the issue.

54 hours without social media

The 54-hour social media challenge was conducted by a team from the University of Education under Vietnam National University, Hanoi, in collaboration with school and university students.

The experiment involved 43 participants aged between 15 and 30, including high school students, university students and recent graduates.

All were accustomed to using Facebook or TikTok every day. During the 54-hour challenge, they committed to staying off both platforms.

By the second day, however, the number of participants breaking that commitment had risen sharply.

Most returned to social media for brief periods of between one and 30 minutes, often simply out of habit or reflex. Others logged back in to respond to messages and comments or deal with work.

Staying away from social media also brought noticeable emotional changes.

Most participants reported feeling uncomfortable, restless or bored, while only a small number said they felt normal.

Among those experiencing negative emotions, the level of discomfort tended to increase with each passing day.

On the first day, some described a vague feeling that "something was missing," as though they had lost part of their usual connection with others.

By the second day, boredom had become more pronounced, prompting participants to look for ways to distract themselves from their phones.

The researchers stressed that the experiment was small and its findings could not be generalized to all young people.

Still, the results offered some indication of how firmly social media has become woven into the everyday routines of many younger users.

'Children are growing up in two worlds'

Speaking at the conference, Associate Professor Dr. Tran Thanh Nam, rector of the University of Education at Vietnam National University, Hanoi, said social media had become part of everyday life.

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Associate Professor Dr. Tran Thanh Nam, rector of the University of Education at Vietnam National University, Hanoi, says children are growing up simultaneously in the real and digital worlds.

Digital spaces offer unprecedented opportunities for children to learn, connect, create and express themselves.

Yet they also bring risks, including social media dependency, cyberbullying and early exposure to negative, harmful or age-inappropriate information.

Such factors can affect mental well-being, contributing to stress, anxiety, sleep problems and other negative effects.

For that reason, Nam said the debate over children's social media use should not focus solely on screen time or whether young people should be allowed to access these platforms.

"Children are growing up in two worlds: the real world and the digital world," Nam said. "What matters is making both worlds safe and ensuring children can protect themselves against the risks."

Le Anh Lan, an education specialist with UNICEF, similarly described the digital environment as becoming a "second life" for children.

An outright ban on children's social media use, she argued, is not an appropriate solution and could even prove counterproductive.

Instead of simply trying to prevent children from accessing social media, Lan said efforts should combine risk prevention with strengthening children's ability to protect themselves.

That means reducing harmful content and other factors that could negatively affect children's mental health while promoting positive mental well-being and building what she described as children's "digital resilience."

"The ultimate goal is not to 'lock' children out of the digital world, but to work together to build a digital environment that is safe and healthy enough for them to learn, connect and develop their full potential," Lan said.

Dang Hoa Nam, vice president of the Vietnam Association for Protection of Children's Rights and former director of the Department of Children, also argued against banning children from social media.

The priority, he said, should be enabling children to develop safely rather than "closing the door to the digital environment."

Achieving that requires responsibility to be shared among government agencies, technology companies, families and schools.

Government authorities are responsible for developing and enforcing policies. Technology companies need to design safer platforms with appropriate safeguards for children. Schools should provide digital knowledge and skills, while families need to accompany, guide and supervise children.

Most importantly, according to Tran Thanh Nam, children themselves need the skills to recognize digital risks and respond to them.

Thuy Nga