President Macron of France is in support of a stringent ban on social media and smartphones for youth. The lawmaker hasn’t disclosed how he plans to carry this out, though.
French President Emmanuel Macron is in favor of outlawing smartphones for kids under the age of eleven and social media for teenagers under the age of fifteen throughout the country, according to a Daily Mail article. This was revealed by the politician during a news conference to kick off his campaign. The suggestion is based on a report that a team of experts, hired by the Élysée Palace, wrote earlier this year.
Uncertainty about implementation: Are parents or tech giants to blame?
The president and his experts are primarily concerned about the harm that social media and excessive mobile phone use do to children and teenagers. The Daily Mail claims that the French president has not disclosed the details of how a total ban will be implemented. Legislators will now have to determine which apps are prohibited and how to implement the suggested remedies.
At a news conference in April, Servane Mouton, one of the report’s principal authors, stated, “The people who are primarily responsible are the tech companies.” Leading experts disagree, according to the newspaper, on whether digital corporations and app makers can be made to include age limitations in their apps. A lot of people also think that parents should enforce the restriction.
An expert report presented a concerning image.
The age at which children and young people should use smartphones was the central question of the study that the Élysée Palace had commissioned. The report offers a simple solution: children under the age of 13 should not use smartphones at all, and the maximum age to use social media should be 18. Particularly the latter has deadly consequences for young individuals. The authors of the study draw the alarming conclusion that tech companies are adopting a “strategy to capture children’s attention […], to keep them glued to the screen, to control them and to keep them occupied in order to make money from them.” Businesses like as Meta are forewarned, saying, “We have seen what you are doing and we will not let you get away with it.”
How parents should support their kids’ initial internet ventures
For the time being, though, parents are in charge of determining how their kids use smartphones. They ought to think about a few fundamental ideas. A certain amount of isolation results if the child is unable to contact their peers. The same holds true for spending hours on TikTok scrolling. To begin with, a keypad phone can be a suitable compromise. The first smartphone should come with clear guidelines. Establishing set, mutually agreed-upon usage periods is crucial. To a limited extent, controlling screen time can also be achieved by using prepaid cards. Furthermore, this model avoids needless expenses. In terms of safety, parents should enlighten their kids about the risks associated with the Internet, disable features when needed, and password-protect the app store. Additionally, the child needs to be made aware that social rules carry over to the Internet.
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