Regulating access to screens for children is one of the priorities announced by Emmanuel Macron during his press conference on Tuesday January 16th. A group of experts must submit work by March “good benefit for our children in families” like in school, in the words of Head of State.

This group of 10 experts met for the first time on January 10, according to the Elysée, which announced its composition on Wednesday, January 17. It will be co-chaired by neurologist and neurophysiologist Servane Mouton and professor of psychiatry Amine Benyamina, head of the Department of Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine at the Paul Brousse Hospital in Villejuif (Val-de-Marne). The eight other members have different backgrounds: an epidemiologist, a psychologist, two lawyers, two education specialists and two digital specialists.

Four areas of work have been identified: produce a joint observation of the impact of screening on the physical and mental health of children and adolescents, assess the effectiveness of existing regulatory systems, in particular parental control, develop a regulatory doctrine for screening and, finally, offer and promote tools , adapted to all target groups, with approaches differentiated according to age.

To achieve this, the experts will review the scientific literature and interview several people. “This multifocal commission will have to ensure that these recommendations are applicable at a legal and European level”describes Amine Benyamina, for whom “The president’s goal is not necessarily to ban screen use, but to create a paradigm shift.”.

Desperate parents

It’s obvious that screen time continues to increase even at a young age. As a result, more and more parents are uncertain when it comes to digital use and risk awareness. “Spending time in front of a screen has an impact on a child’s emotional, sensory and cognitive development.”, emphasized the head of state. This is also proven by numerous scientific studies.

A study in The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, published in September 2023, emphasized that the context of use and family environment would play a more important role than the time spent in front of a screen. Screen time also puts a strain on interaction time, especially with parents – who may be on their screen themselves – and affects time spent exercising, reading, sleeping, etc. The President of the République also criticized the high consumption of social networks, where there is a lack of information that disrupts the hierarchy “Relation to the truth”.

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