Every evening, in thousands of French households, the same scene is playing out: an exhausting war of attrition to limit phone use, wearing families down. This is the direct result of digital products engineered by some of the world’s brightest minds to maximize attention time – especially, perhaps, that of developing brains.
Faced with this reality, banning social media for those under 15 might seem like an obvious answer. Protective. Responsible. But this is only true on the surface. Behind this measure lies a dangerous shifting of responsibility: Families are being left to compensate, every day and in the privacy of their homes, for what platforms worth trillions of dollars have deliberately optimized to be irresistible. Parents are being asked to do the “dirty work” that the government has refused to impose on digital giants.
In every other sector that touches on public health – pharmaceuticals, food, automotive, toys – the principle is clear: Manufacturers must demonstrate that their product is safe before it hits the market. Before authorizing the release of a medication, rigorous clinical trials are required. Before an additive goes into food, independent toxicology testing is mandatory. Before a car is sold, standardized crash tests must be completed. And when a product is for children, requirements become even stricter.
Challenging, sometimes frustrating
Take a simple example: a toy. Before it ever reaches a child’s hands, it must be tested to avoid obvious risks: It must not catch fire, break into sharp pieces, contain small swallowable parts or include hazardous substances. No one would expect parents, on Christmas Eve, to drop the toy off a shelf, bend it, scratch it and put it under a microscope to check for safety at home.
I know what this requirement implies and how burdensome it can be, because I have experienced it myself as a designer of medical devices: When a product impacts health, you are required to document, test and prove its safety before exposing the public. It is challenging – and sometimes frustrating – but this is precisely what protects the consumer.
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