France wants to restrict social media use for children under 15
French President Emmanuel Macron has proposed that high school students regularly observe a “screen-free day.” The idea is to put away phones and social media in order to refocus attention on learning and face-to-face interaction. Separately, he advocated for a complete ban on social media for children under 15, explaining that this is necessary to reduce the influence of the digital environment. He made these remarks during a speech to high school students, according to Reuters.
French President Emmanuel Macron urged high school students to put down their phones more often and read more. During a speech to students, he proposed the idea of a regular “screen-free day,” when students completely refrain from using the internet and social media.
According to him, today’s children spend too much time in the digital environment, which effectively steals their attention and affects their development. Macron described this as a situation where young people find themselves in an overly aggressive information space.
“We have left you in this jungle, and it has stolen your attention. We need to slow down and help you grow up,” said the French president.
He also emphasized that access to social media should be completely restricted until the age of 15. According to him, this is not a matter of bans, but of protecting children during the period when their habits and ways of thinking are forming. “No social media until age 15,” Macron noted.
Separately, he proposed introducing a monthly “day without the internet.” “We would like one day a month to be a day without the internet, to show that it is possible,” the president added.
Macron also suggested alternatives for such a day: reading aloud, theater performances, and other offline activities, which, in his view, help children interact better with one another and develop their attention span without digital noise.
French President Emmanuel Macron also reported that he had held talks with his American and Iranian counterparts regarding the situation in the Middle East.
