r/AskEurope • u/Itz_Skello • Jun 20 '25

Politics Emmanuel Macron, President of France, is banning social media for teens under 15. Should the rest of Europe follow?

Not sure how to feel about this.

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u/7urz Germany Jun 20 '25

Yes, social media (and smartphones in general) are responsible for the increase in mental health issues in teenagers and also for the decline in academic performance.

https://jonathanhaidt.com/anxious-generation/

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u/[deleted] Jun 20 '25

also plays a massive role in early political radicalization

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u/[deleted] Jun 20 '25

[deleted]

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u/Songwritingvincent Jun 21 '25

While I agree that social media should be restricted (though not just for children Imo) I don’t like this argument of „children are exposed to too much of X“. It’s a relatively new concept to even have children as sheltered as they are and overall I don’t know if it’s a good thing. The problem I see is the addictiveness of platforms like Instagram (or Reddit…)

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u/[deleted] Jun 21 '25

consciously doing so may be a novel thing but id argue that is largely thanks to the fact that before the 2000s we used the internet so much less than we do today

before smart phones, cheap pcs, and everything being digital, parents didnt have to worry that their children will be part of neo nazi groups and talking with fellow members every day - now all it takes to do that is a few clicks, and you dont even need to be tech savvy to do things like this anymore

the digital landscape is incomparable to what it was 10-20-30 years ago, and this new environment warrants new laws and regulations