Do not let children under 13 on the smartphone! Experts would ban networks even until 18

Children should not be allowed to use smartphones until they are 13 and should be banned from social media such as TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat until they are 18, according to an expert report commissioned by Emmanuel Macron.

The French president has asked scientists and experts to come up with suggestions on the use of devices by children, so that France can take measures to limit the exposure of minors to gadgets.

It is not known what the French government will do now, after the publication of the report, but Macron said in January: “There could be bans, there could be restrictions.”

The expert report quoted by The Guardian is drastic and says that children must be protected from the “attention-getting, profit-driven strategy of the technology industry, which uses all forms of cognitive bias to keep children captive on screens, to control and monetize them”.

Children are becoming “commodities” in this new technological market.

“We want that [industria] let them know that we saw what they were doing and we will not let them get away with it,” the quoted report added.

A three-month study carried out by scientists and experts led by a neurologist, Servane Mouton, but also Amine Benyamina, head of the psychiatry and addictions service at the Paul-Brousse hospital, shows that children under the age of three should not be exposed no screens at all – including TV – and no child should have a phone before the age of 11.

Any phone given to a child between the ages of 11 and 13 should be without Internet access.

The report adds that a 15-year-old should only be able to access “ethical” social networks such as Mastodon.

Conventional for-profit social networks such as TikTok, Instagram or Snapchat should not be available to teenagers until they turn 18.

Teens should also be educated about the scientific data that shows the need for adequate sleep.

The report made equally strict recommendations for very young children, saying mobile phones and screens of any kind should be limited as much as possible in maternity wards to help parents bond with their babies.

For children under six, access to screens of any kind should be “very limited” and only very much used for educational content under adult supervision.

Screens should be completely banned in preschools for children under six.

In primary schools, children should not be given individual tablets or digital devices to work on, unless absolutely necessary because of a disability.

The report also suggested a ban on toys connected to the Net, except those used as audio support for storytelling.

“Before the age of six, no child needs a screen to develop. In fact, screen devices can stop them from developing properly at this age,” says neurologist Mouton.

The scientists did not want to rebuke parents, who themselves are “victims of a powerful technology industry.”

Parents should, instead, be helped to avoid what experts call “techno-fences”—those moments when parents are constantly checking their own phones that interfere with their ability to focus on talking, eat or play with their children.

This behavior affects young people’s emotional development, the report says.

Scientists emphasize that parents are not to blame. Society as a whole should do more, such as allowing adults to properly disconnect from work after hours, limiting screens in public places, establishing screen-free restaurants and cafes.

Parents are advised to put their phones in a box when they get home from work.

The scientists add that “parental control” methods should not be seen as a sufficient means of protecting children.

“Technology is and will remain a fantastic tool, but it must act in the service of people, not so that people are reduced to serving a product,” says doctor Benyamina.

Screens have negative effects on children “in terms of vision, metabolism … intelligence, concentration and cognitive processes,” he adds.

Addiction to screens is not the product itself, but the content: “Algorithms that activate and stimulate the pleasure system are built to avoid losing interest in the content and have a kind of addictive dynamic.”

People should be vigilant on social media if they have noticed that the content is holding them captive. “If you’ve decided you want to watch a video or two and end up sitting on an app all night, you need to ask yourself some questions.”