French President Emmanuel Macron addressed hundreds of middle school students at the International Francophone City in Villers-Cottere in the Valois region on Thursday, calling on teenagers to turn off their mobile phones and pick up books. He announced that he would promote the establishment of an "offline day" every month and planned legislation to ban the use of social media by minors under 15 years old.
Macron: Algorithms steal your attention
In his speech, Macron admitted that society’s lack of supervision on social media has caused harm to young people. “We have left you in this jungle and it is taking away your attention,” Macron told the students. “We need to slow down and help you grow as adults and, more importantly, as citizens.”
He further elaborated on the idea of "Offline Day": "We hope to have an 'Offline Day' every month to keep everyone away from the screen. This day can be used to read aloud, do drama or other activities, so that everyone can experience it firsthand - leaving the screen is completely doable."
According to the Elysee Palace, the French presidential palace, Macron interacted with about 350 students from the Ile-de-France region and Amiens that day. He participated in a reading workshop hosted by comedian Laurent Stock and was interviewed by students.
Read: More valuable spiritual nourishment than short videos
In a conversation with students, Macron shared his understanding of reading. A 15-year-old student, Ferdas, said after participating in the comic creation workshop that he "learned a lot" about comic creation - the entire process from research and story conception to pencil drawing and coloring.
When asked about his views on reading, Macron said: "Reading is very important to me, and it is a blessing to be able to fall in love with reading. I will not say to you, 'You must read' - that would be too ridiculous, and I am not here to convince you. But I find that reading can help us learn a lot, and can bring us things that videos cannot."
Macron explained that reading "can help us understand things and find suitable expressions for our feelings" and is also a "time to ourselves" that allows people to concentrate. “Otherwise, we would be in a perpetual state of distraction in this world,” he stresses.
Student reaction: some support, some question
In live interviews, students had mixed reactions to the president’s initiative. 16-year-old Keisha admitted that she spends 8 to 12 hours on her mobile phone every day on weekends. "I spend much more time on my mobile phone than reading books." Sharonn Tsimi Meyong, 15, said: "I don't agree, younger children will feel excluded." Fabien Andronic, also 15, also believed that it should be the responsibility of parents to check the time spent on mobile phones. "I like social networks, we learn a lot there."
But 15-year-old Manel Zerouali supports a ban on under-15s because they need protection. “On social networks, there is cyberbullying,” she stressed.
One thing everyone agrees on is that most teenagers will find a way around the ban.
Legislative process: use of social media prohibited under 15 years old
Macron's "Offline Day" initiative is part of his broader push to regulate social media among teenagers. The French parliament is considering a bill that would ban minors under 15 from using social media. While the National Assembly has voted in favor of a full ban, the Senate's preference to only block platforms deemed harmful to children may mean Macron's goal of implementing the law in the new school year (September) may not be achieved as planned.
At the same time, the EU is also actively promoting a unified age verification mechanism. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that an EU application for online age verification has been developed and will be put into use in 27 member states in the near future. Later in the day, Macron will also hold a video conference with other EU leaders to promote a coordinated European approach on the concept of "digital adulthood."
The hidden worries behind the data
Behind Macron’s initiative is the grim reality of rising screen time among French teenagers. French teenagers aged 7 to 19 spend an average of three hours a day on screens and just 18 minutes reading, according to a study released on Tuesday. Among those aged 16 to 19, screen time soared to more than five hours a day, while reading time shrank further to 14 minutes.
In this context, Macron said in a video in January: "The emotions of our children cannot be sold or manipulated - neither by American platforms nor by algorithms in other countries."
As Australia takes the lead in passing a ban on social media for minors, many European countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Spain, and Italy are also considering or advancing similar restrictive measures.