Mobile phones, a new family and political issue : key takeaways from the LCP debate

On January 16, Viktor Bach, co-founder of The Phone, was in the audience of the program “Chaque voix compte,” broadcast on La Chaîne Parlementaire. The question of the day was: “Is the telephone the enemy of the family?” Around the table to discuss it were Professor Amine Benyamina, an addiction specialist, along with three members of parliament: Louis Boyard, Isabelle Rauch, and Pouria Amirshahi.

How can we protect young people from the dangers of hyperconnectivity? We already know, and Professor Benyamina clearly reminded viewers, that between ages 0 and 3, exposure to screens should be zero, and between ages 3 and 6, it should be kept to an absolute minimum. There is a scientific reason for this: screens disrupt “brain maturation and essential interactions with the environment.” In addition, blue light and the rapid succession of images (swiping) stimulate the brain at a pace it cannot properly process. The result: the brain becomes “overwhelmed.” But what about pre-teens and teenagers, for whom it is becoming increasingly difficult to refuse access to a mobile phone and, by extension, the apps that come with it? The issue has become especially controversial in recent months, particularly since the government launched discussions around banning phones in high school. Between medical findings, exploding usage, family tensions, and legislative proposals, the debate on “Chaque voix compte” highlighted a widespread phenomenon: the overwhelming place of the smartphone in young people’s lives… and adults’ powerlessness to remedy it.

Ultra-connected teenagers
What if our teenagers are simply too connected? The numbers speak for themselves: young people receive their first mobile phone at 11 years and 4 months old, while a 15-year-old spends 4 hours a day on their smartphone. And what about notifications, which never seem to stop, with nearly 240 alerts a day on average? These figures are alarming. Yet at the same time, there is a real contradiction: for many students, the phone has become not only a source of entertainment but also an almost indispensable educational tool, thanks to, or because of certain apps closely tied to school life, starting with digital school platforms and class WhatsApp groups. Today, having a smartphone is almost necessary, but its use must be limited… an impossible equation?

Family crises, workarounds, and a sense of helplessness
Through the testimonies shared during the debate, the extent of tension in households became clear, with some parents describing it as “a real drama” when they cut off screen access. Teenagers themselves readily admitted that they often “do not realize” how much time they spend on their phones, while also confessing that they know perfectly well how to bypass parental controls sometimes with astonishing ease: discovering a code, secretly registering a fingerprint, or even… leaving the phone case in place of the actual device when they are supposed to hand it over at bedtime. As a result, 9 out of 10 parents say they are concerned about overexposure, and many are calling for clear guidance, simpler settings, and above all, stronger regulation of the platforms designed to maximize time spent online.

Political proposals… and their limits
During the debate, the MPs discussed measures currently under review: banning social media for under-15s, banning phones in high school, and ending the digital curfew following the opinion of the Conseil d’État. But all acknowledged how difficult such measures would be to enforce: how can a total ban actually be monitored, and with what human resources, when schools already lack enough supervisors and psychologists? Moreover, for addiction specialist Amine Benyamina, prohibition is not the solution. In his view, it is better to speak of regulation and denormalization an approach previously applied to tobacco with proven results. In other words, reducing the presence of smartphones in social spaces so that they become less obvious, less automatic.

Citizen-led initiatives that are changing the game
Some parents, however, did not wait for political positions to start addressing hyperconnectivity and the smartphone, which has become the third hand of their teenagers. In several schools, these committed parents are organizing through “pacts” with goals such as delaying the age of the first smartphone, acting collectively to reduce social pressure, or establishing a norm where “no one has a smartphone” at the start of middle school. These initiatives, present in around thirty countries, show that a collective response can work where isolated individual decisions leave children feeling excluded. It was also an opportunity for Viktor, in the audience of the program, to present The Phone solution: a phone without internet that allows communication without falling into the trap of social media and other causes of hyperconnectivity. “A phone that is only used for calling,” as host Adeline François aptly summed it up… with one difference: its design looks just like a smartphone, meaning it is not socially stigmatizing for the person using it.

Clearly, the debate did not provide a miracle solution, but it did at least highlight one reality: the problem is not only a family issue, but also a societal one. Platforms, the state, schools, parents, and young people all need to act together. Between public health urgency, social pressure, and institutional contradictions, the smartphone continues to impose itself as one of the major educational and political challenges of the decade.