Baptiste Detombe, 24, a Sciences Po graduate and author of L'Homme démantelé (The Dismantled Man), warns about the risks of early social media use. With the average age for getting a phone being 9, he denounces platforms' deliberate strategies to capture the attention of the youngest users.
Documented addictive mechanisms
Digital giants deploy techniques designed to make users dependent. Infinite scrolling, personalized notifications in their form, color, and timing: everything is designed to extend screen time. The figures illustrate the extent of the phenomenon:
- Children spend an average of 3 hours a day on their phones, teenagers 5 hours
- 16% of a young person's day is spent on screens
- 35 minutes of use are enough to trigger an addiction
- Notifications cause significant dopamine releases
This time represents almost half of young people's sleep time, fueling anxiety and fatigue.
Towards age verification
Baptiste Detombe proposes implementing bank imprint verification, similar to online gambling, to restrict access to platforms before the age of 16. An inquiry committee in the National Assembly is currently interviewing young people, parents, and professionals to assess the impact of TikTok on minors.
To learn more about these issues, read the full article.
Source: When youth fight against digital addiction
This summary aims to be transparent and neutral. Disconnecto acts here as an observer of the digital landscape, without taking a stance. We invite you to consult the original source for a complete reading.
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