Parents don't want their children to suffer because of technology. Their experience of childhood and adolescence is of no use to them because the digital world had not broken out then as it has now. And as the president of the Catalan Society of Paediatrics, Anna Gatell, expresses, "everyone is learning".
But they see how the virtual world eats up space in the physical world and fear that children and teenagers, who are in the growth phase, will get lost along the way. For this reason, and in the light of the news about cyberbullying, pornography, addictions and an increase in behavior disorders, eating disorders and suicides, they propose to establish a social contract by which the first mobile phone is not given before turning 16 . The wick was lit in Poblenou and has already spread throughout the Peninsula.
Banning mobile phones is the solution? At 12, at 14, at 16? What do teenagers gain and lose? And the parents? Can you be a teenager today without a mobile phone? has spoken to different experts in the world of adolescence.
They agree at the bottom of the matter: the use of mobile phones is excessive by children and adults, there is a need for time and space regulation and parental control. And that the proposed ban is a desperate cry from parents for the powerlessness of the digital world. "But dead the worm, dead the poison?" asks Josep Lluís Matalí, child psychologist expert in addictions. "I think that addressing a complex and deep problem with simple answers is a mistake."
Being a teenager today is more difficult than a few years ago, as is being a parent, he says. It does not avoid the risks of technologies, taking into account that, the longer the connection, the more the possibilities of consequences increase. But beware, not everyone is addicted to the mobile phone. Maybe they misuse it or spend a lot of time in front of screens, but being addicted is a serious chronic disorder that can be cured with abstinence and can be reactivated immediately", points out the head of psychology at Sant Joan hospital of God "The mobile phone is not the heroine of the 21st century, nor is it comparable to alcohol or tobacco, because, unlike these two things, it does not kill and brings advantages".
Just ask young people who already have mobile phones. "I love discovering music, I can't live without music", explains Iago (20 years old and with a mobile phone since 12). "I've learned English thanks to the videos and Google responds immediately to any questions I have," he continues. “I am in contact with my friends and I can connect with one of the friends when I feel bad. And we've all learned to be critical of TikTok or WhatsApp groups. At first they were chaos. Now, we never express political opinions or describe anyone negatively in public."
"Learning is the key," points out Pepe Menéndez, a teacher for four decades. "It's not all or nothing". It's not an age, because not everyone matures the same. Some live in a village and some live in a big city. They have different social environments. And parents may want to contact them if they leave school and go to a friend's house, if the visit with the doctor has been cancelled, if they are unwell. "If you ban it, you don't need to have an educational criterion, and if there is no criterion, there is no learning. It's true that as a parent you avoid conflict in the short term, but you don't educate him", he points out.
Adolescence is also what happens in the virtual world, where a digital identity is built. For Menéndez, it is important to accompany the minor in all dimensions and he thinks that, to combat a possible dependence on screens, it is necessary to offer them company and complementary face-to-face activities (sports, arts, games, friendships). And regulate the times, spaces and accessibility to certain contents.
"Let's all put down the soufflé," suggests Matalí. Give the mobile depending on the maturity of the child, control the applications, limit the time and apply partial supervision. "Now, we need to recover the dinners and, above all, the table tops", recommends Matalí. “Rather than banning, we demand a quieter life to be able to raise our children, to be able to take an interest in their lives, help them manage any discomfort and reflect with them (also on how to have a relationship with technology healthier). Let's also leave the mobile, because we have to admit that we have hypernaturalized it".
He believes that the current time pushes for acceleration, individualism and immediacy and less depth in relationships. "We claim a slow life and demand technological rules to protect minors".
For the psychologist, technology is a dimensioner of discomfort, especially loneliness, but it does not cause the underlying problem. "In my high-complexity unit, adolescents are referred by other psychologists. Only two out of ten have a dependency problem. The others abuse the screens for a sea of background which, by the way, they have all experienced alone because the adults have not noticed it".
