Meta brings teen online safety conversations offline in Singapore

Meta has launched Digital Dialogue IRL in Singapore, a free public experience aimed at helping teens, parents and educators discuss online safety, social media habits and digital wellbeing.

Open at Temasek Shophouse from 25 June to 31 July 2026, the experience uses visual conversation cards, guided prompts and interactive touchpoints to address everyday online situations. These include screen time, social comparison, feed control, peer pressure, cyberbullying and healthy boundaries between online and offline life.

The launch connects Meta’s Teen Accounts safety tools with guided conversations for families and schools. Teen Accounts across Instagram, Facebook and Messenger include default protections inspired by 13+ movie ratings and parent feedback. According to Meta, teens will see content similar to what they would see in an age-appropriate movie and cannot opt out without a parent’s permission.

School pilots show stronger awareness after guided sessions

The clearest evidence in the launch comes from pilot workshops conducted with 304 students at two Singapore secondary schools. The sessions used visual storytelling and discussion to help students explore digital wellbeing and online identity.

After the workshop, students were 19 percentage points more likely to say they understood the safety tools on their Instagram Teen Account. Familiarity rose from 52% before the session to 71% afterwards, pointing to a practical awareness gap even when safety settings are already available.

The pilot also found that 69% of students agreed the sessions helped them have honest and open conversations about social media. Among educators surveyed after the programme, 72% agreed that illustrations helped students engage with complex topics, while 61% said they intended to use the Digital Dialogue resource in future teaching.

The findings were based on an EYEYAH!-commissioned school pilot study involving students aged 13 to 14 and 18 educators who took part in a one-hour Digital Dialogue workshop. The research used pre- and post-workshop evaluation surveys, with data collected between 21 May and 28 May 2026. The reported statistics represent aggregated top-two box agreement scores from 304 pre-survey and 236 post-survey respondents across both schools.

Platform settings still need human context

The launch points to a wider challenge in teen online safety. Platform controls can restrict certain types of content by default, but they still depend on users, parents and educators understanding what those controls do and how they fit into real social situations.

That is especially important for issues such as peer pressure, social comparison and cyberbullying, where the problem is often tied to context, tone and relationships rather than a single setting. By using illustrations and guided prompts, Digital Dialogue IRL gives students and adults a less confrontational way to discuss habits that may otherwise be difficult to raise directly.

Premlatha D/O Selvaraj, Vice-Principal, Secondary School, MOE, said the format helped Secondary One students reflect on their online behaviour.

“Digital Dialogue created a safe and engaging space for our Secondary One students to openly discuss their online experiences and reflect on their digital habits. The illustration-led approach made conversations around social media and wellbeing feel relatable, thoughtful, and highly relevant to our students,” she said.

Digital safety is treated as a shared responsibility

Digital Dialogue IRL was developed in partnership with EYEYAH!, a Singapore illustration studio, and is positioned in support of the national Digital for Life movement. The public experience brings together platform safeguards, school-based education and family conversations, rather than treating online safety as a setting that teens manage alone.

Minister of State for Digital Development and Information and Health Rahayu Mahzam said keeping young people safe online requires involvement from government, industry, schools and families.

“Keeping young people safe online is not something any one party can do alone. It requires government, industry, schools, and families working together. What I find encouraging about initiatives like Digital Dialogue IRL is that they help young people develop their own judgement through honest conversations with the trusted adults in their lives. This is the kind of collaboration we need as we build a safer, more discerning digital society.”

Digital Dialogue IRL is open to the public at Temasek Shophouse until 31 July 2026. Entry is free.