Reacción a "Pedro Sánchez announces that Spain will ban children under 16 from accessing social media"

Firstly, limiting the time minors spend on social media and, in general, connected to mobile devices, can be a valuable goal from a health perspective, as we know that this time is taken away from other important activities such as rest or sports, for example. We also know that these networks contribute to the spread of unhealthy behaviour patterns. The most extreme cases range from incitement to suicide to eating disorders and, eventually, cases in which someone may become socially isolated as a result of their participation in these networks.

However, prohibiting access may be difficult to enforce as long as adequate control of minors' access cannot be guaranteed. I mean that access to tobacco and alcoholic beverages is also prohibited for minors, and yet minors experiment with tobacco, alcohol and electronic cigarettes before the age of 18. So, if measures to ensure compliance with that prohibition are not guaranteed, it could be more cosmetic than effective.

Secondly, and very importantly, I believe that, in addition to limiting access, steps should be taken to ensure that the design of this type of technological platform is not one whose main objective is precisely that uncontrolled use. As we have done in the case of tobacco, for example, reducing the appeal may be even more important than prohibiting its consumption.

Just as we have introduced measures in the packaging of cigarette packets that make them less attractive, or limited the use of flavours that we know are particularly appealing to young people who are not yet accustomed to smoking, ensuring that those responsible for these social networks do not make them excessively attractive with measures such as infinite scrolling could be more important than outright prohibition.