The report harshly criticizes the technology industry, which uses its algorithms to hook and control children in order to make profits.
Children under the age of 13 should not have smartphones, says a recent report by French experts. Among other things, write about the topic the Guardian magazine. The report further recommends that people under the age of 18 should not have access to major commercial social media services such as TikTok, Instagram or Snapchat.
The expert report was commissioned by the President of France Emmanuel Macron in January. He asked the research group for recommendations regarding children’s screen time and suggestions on how to limit children’s and young people’s exposure to, for example, social media.
The report sharply criticizes the technology industry, which uses its algorithms to hook and control children in order to make profits.
The group that made the report was led by a neurologist Servane Mouton and director of the Paul-Brousse hospital’s psychiatry and addiction unit Amine Benjamin. According to them, children under the age of three should not be exposed to screens at all – not even to television.
According to the report, children under the age of 11 do not need a mobile phone at all. The group recommends that mobile phones owned by 11-13-year-olds should be such that they cannot access the internet.
According to the report, 15-year-olds should only have access to “ethical” social media services, such as Mastodon.
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“Even parents are victims of the technology industry”
The research team also gives recommendations to parents, but emphasizes in its report that it does not want to blame parents, who are also victims of the “influential technology industry”. Instead, parents should be supported and helped, for example, in not constantly checking their own phones while interacting with their children.
A child’s mental development can be harmed by the fact that a parent is constantly browsing the phone, for example during the child’s meal, states the report.
Researchers urge people to be vigilant about the addiction created by social media.
– If you decided you were going to watch just one or two videos and you did [videoita] the whole evening, it is your reason to question what happened, reminds Benyamina.
How the French government intends to proceed after the publication of the latest report is unclear. In January, President Macron hinted at the introduction of possible bans and restrictions.