00:00Is banning social media for minors the solution?
00:04Is it time for Colombia to ban social media for minors under 16?
00:09Since Australia took that measure at the end of the year,
00:13Several European countries have joined together in study processes to replicate it.
00:18France's ban will come into effect on September 1st.
00:23with its president Emmanuel Macron selling it as a triumph
00:27and a step towards the necessary regulation of technology companies.
00:32In our country, the possibility has been mentioned
00:35and several schools have conducted pilot programs banning electronic devices in educational spaces.
00:42However, before we jump headfirst into a solution that seems simple,
00:47But it has many implications; we need a debate.
00:51about where the problem lies and what we need as a country to address it.
00:57The main proponent of this idea is the American social psychologist Jonathan Haidt,
01:03in his bestseller The Anxious Generation.
01:06He shared study after study demonstrating how young people are experimenting
01:11higher rates of depression and anxiety than previous generations.
01:16According to Haidt, much of the problem lies with electronic devices.
01:21and the harmful mix of cell phones and social media.
01:24In Colombia, the recent figures from the 2025 national mental health survey
01:29They realize that we share the same problem.
01:33Yes, it is true that we have two sect generations,
01:37those of millennials and Generation Z,
01:40with anxiety problems, poor attention span, and very poor frustration tolerance.
01:46Contrary to what technology companies say,
01:50Yes, we can talk about a direct responsibility of social media.
01:54You don't have to go far to understand why.
01:57Their business model was built on the time each user spends on their applications.
02:03That's why developers became experts at making us addicted.
02:07through constant validation doses.
02:11The rise of short videos as the most consumed type of content in the world,
02:16It goes hand in hand with a lack of concentration ability.
02:19and the reduction of cognitive skills needed for analytical, critical, and calm human beings.
02:27Hyperconnectivity happened very quickly.
02:29From being a utopia to resembling more of a nightmare, as it facilitates bullying,
02:35It encourages poor self-care practices and blocks learning.
02:41Time and again, the network owners said that the market would be responsible for regulating them.
02:47But those good intentions came to nothing.
02:50If the states don't do something, the problem will continue.
02:54Despite the above, a strict ban like Australia's sounds more like punitive populism.
03:00which is a useful measure in this debate.
03:03A recent survey by the Molly Rose Foundation found that 61% of Australians between 12 and 15
03:13years
03:13They still have access to social media.
03:16Other estimates are even higher.
03:18Several testimonies from teenagers recount how the ban became a joke,
03:24Well, there are hundreds of creative ways to get around it.
03:28This is compounded by the fact that they require facial recognition and other privacy-invasive measures.
03:34It raises questions about fundamental rights in the digital context.
03:40Colombia has just approved Decree 0769 of 2026, which regulates several educational measures.
03:49around this question, which requires us to have a national public policy within a year
03:55of healthy and safe digital environments.
03:58The next government should give priority to this discussion.
04:03We need to find a way to educate Colombians without an outright ban.
04:09The columnist for El Espectador and educator Julián de Subiría proposed promoting parent schools.
04:16Yes, we need that, and we also need to include teachers.
04:20Digital illiteracy today means leaving many people unprotected.
04:26Given the speed of technological evolution, our education must be equally ambitious and rapid.
04:35We've wasted a lot of time.
04:38If you disagree with this editorial, send your 500-word counter-editorial to elespectadoropinion.com.
Comentarios