In families there are not enough hours to reconcile and it is very lazy to spend time each day discussing the good use and abuse of the mobile phone or console. But you have to organize your time, enter the digital world and agree on what your children can and cannot do in that area. There is no other option. Demonizing the smartphone will not change the fact that technology is part of our lives, that it has changed society, in fact. It can't be ignored, unless you live with the Amish. Digital life can be partially modulated, even if it costs. But it does not seem realistic to postpone the use of cell phones until the age of 16 (and why not until the age of 18?), even though 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 access to them.
It is understandable that families are scared by the risk of addiction, that if AI, they will be overwhelmed by the powerful and unstoppable technology industry. Who doesn't want free time from their cell phone and erase one of the main causes of dispute at home? Maybe it works for some families to postpone its use, maybe they win some years, their children live without TikTok or Snapchat, but it is hard to believe that the majority of teenagers will stay out of the digital world. With or without a cell phone, because the phone is the most accessible door, but there are the computer, the tablet, the TV with internet, the console. Educators and technology experts warn: we must teach how to use it before the age of 10 or 12. At 16 it will be too late. They will have pulled on their own. Let it not happen to us like with sexual-affective education.
If the misuse of mobile phones, of technology, is a social problem, we have to eat it. In the best way, minimize problems. But there is no other option. At home and at school. Teachers are tired of the phone. It is even more understandable when many are not digital natives. Many are clinging to the possibility of banning cell phones in educational centers. But it is also not realistic for schools to avoid technology. You will always be one step behind, but you must integrate it and teach it in all its facets, including its 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 wisely.
