Pakistanis spent more than $689 million on digital media during 2025, with the real concern lying not in the economic figures but in the impact on public mental health, particularly among youth, the Director General of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra), Ikram Barkat, has said.
Speaking at a lecture titled “Measuring the Social and Economic Impact of Digital Media: Evidence for Policy,” organised by the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI), Mr Barkat broke down the spending figures, noting that around $27 million was spent on music purchases and $158 million on video games.
A further $392 million went toward video-on-demand services, a significant portion of which involved adult content.
“There are social impacts of wrong content, and this is serious as the majority of digital media users are not only youths, but a large number of them are underage children,” he said.
Mr Barkat said excessive digital media use was driving social and mental health consequences among citizens, including sleep loss, in addition to its economic footprint. He also pointed to a political dimension, noting that misinformation and disinformation were on the rise as digital media usage grew.
He said the challenges ahead would only intensify as more people join the internet user base and artificial intelligence (AI) continues to advance rapidly.
Pakistan has yet to begin implementing its national AI policy, he said, cautioning against further delay and calling for the safe and progressive use of both AI and social media.
Closing the session, retired Brig Raashid Janjua said social media had reshaped learning patterns among young people, with access to information increasingly taking precedence over the acquisition of knowledge.
