“Determining the appropriate use of screens for our children at home and in the classroom: that’s the purpose of the report I’ve launched from a panel of experts on the impact of young people’s exposure to screens. I gave the government one month to study its recommendations and put them into practice,” the head of state wrote on X.
Direct and indirect health effects
In this roughly 100-page report, the commission recommends banning youth use of screens and cell phones and drastically limiting access to minors. In particular, it warns of the “negative effects, direct and indirect, of screens”, especially on sleep, a sedentary lifestyle and even short-sightedness.
Ten experts also describe social media as “risk factors” for depression or anxiety in the case of “existing vulnerabilities” and consider the level of children’s exposure to pornographic and violent content to be “alarming”. They therefore propose, for example, the possibility to provide a smartphone without access to social networks only from the age of 13, then to open this access from the age of 15 only on “ethical” networks.