Families lack hours to reconcile, so it is very lazy to spend time every day discussing the good use and abuse of the mobile phone or console. But it is necessary to organize the time, enter the digital world and agree what the children can and cannot do in this area. We have no other choice. Demonizing the smartphone will not change the fact that technology is part of our lives, that it has changed society, in fact. It cannot be ignored, unless you live with the Amish. Digital life can be modulated, in part, even if it costs. But it does not seem realistic to postpone the mobile phone until the age of 16 (and why not until the age of 18?), even if thousands of families are already considering it. Nor ask that it be prohibited by law if there are already apps banned for minors and the parents themselves give them access.
It is understandable for families, that the risk of addiction scares them, that if AI, that they are drowned by the powerful and unstoppable technological industry. Who doesn’t want free time on their cell phone and save themselves one of the main causes of contention at home? Maybe it works for some families to postpone their use, maybe they win a year, their children live without TikTok or Snapchat, but it is hard to believe that most teenagers will stay away from the digital world. With or without a mobile phone, because the phone is the most accessible door, but there is the computer, the tablet, the TV with internet, the console. Educators and technology experts warn: it is necessary to teach how to use it before the age of 10 or 12. At 16 it will be late. They will have shot on their own. Let it not happen to us like with sexual and affective education.
If the misuse of mobile phones, of technology, is a social problem, we have to pay for the party. In the best way, minimize its effects. But we have no other choice. At home and at school. Teachers are tired of the phone. It is also understandable when many are not digital natives. Many cling to the possibility of banning mobile phones in schools. But it is also not realistic for the school to avoid technology. He will always be a step behind, but he must integrate it and teach it in all its facets, including the risks. Students must acquire full digital skills. Many spend hours online, but they don’t know how to navigate the internet, identify reliable sources, see why an app is more addictive, or even use Wikipedia judiciously.
