Banning the use of smartphones does not help against adolescent psychological distress.

Close to the States General of Education and Prevention, some meetings addressed the issues of bullying and adolescent discomfort. Among the various interventions that I had the opportunity to read, I was negatively struck by the requests for a ban or strong limitation on the use of smartphones under a certain age.

It would be a huge mistake.

The entire modern society experiences a problematic relationship with technology and yet the debate continues to focus solely on children, proposing a restriction of their rights in the name of presumed protection.

The original flaw of these proposals lies in the confusion of the cause with the effect: the kids feel more and more alone, more and more misunderstood, more and more pessimistic… and consequently they take refuge within the virtual world. Within which, it must be said, the interactions have characteristics that tend to worsen the problem and therefore the concern is certainly justified.

Furthermore, these restrictive proposals would like to force thousands of teenagers to give up smartphones while they see their parents increasingly dependent on the Internet and social networks.

There is a real solution: digital education campaigns that can allow children to use digital tools in a healthy and critical way.