Smartphones must carry a health warning, says the Spanish government

Smartphones sold in Spain must carry a label warning users of their potential health consequences, experts have told the Spanish government, in a report calling on doctors to ask about screen time during check-ups.

As Spain moves forward with a bill to limit children’s exposure to technology, the 50-member expert committee has also called for minors to have limited exposure to digital devices until the age of 13, in what they see as a problem for children. to alleviate public health.

The almost 250-page report from the experts, seen by the newspaper El País, recommends that children under the age of three should not be exposed to digital devices, while children under the age of six should only have access to these devices on an exceptional basis.

For children between the ages of six and 12, priority should be given to the use of so-called ‘dumb phones’ – which do not have access to the internet and are limited to calling – as well as offline activities such as sports.

The report called on the government to consider adding a warning label to digital devices sold in Spain, to inform consumers of the health risks some associate with social media and digital devices, as well as the potential consequences of accessing inappropriate content could have on the development of children.

Similar warnings should appear on screens when certain apps or platforms are opened, detailing health risk claims and maximum recommended usage time, the report recommends.

It urged the government to designate cell phone addiction as a public health problem, a designation that would facilitate the development of preventive measures and early detection systems.

Questions about screen time and problematic behavior should be included in health consultations for all age groups, while “screening for depression, anxiety and technology use” should be carried out regularly during medical check-ups for adolescents.

The committee was formed earlier this year in response to what the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, described as an “authentic epidemic” of online pornography consumption among children.

“The numbers are both telling and disturbing,” says Sánchez said in January. “One in four young people under the age of 12 – and almost half of those under the age of 15 – have had or are currently accessing pornography.”

But ultimately the report took a broader look at the problem, looking not only at children’s access to pornography, but also at their use of digital devices. Their intervention comes amid a growing global debate over children’s exposure to technology, a debate that has prompted schools around the world to tackle the use of mobile phones in classrooms.

In France, a government study in April found that children should not be allowed to use smartphones until the age of 13 and access to conventional social media such as TikTok and Instagram should be banned until the age of 18.

In Spain, true statistics suggest that a quarter of children have a mobile phone by age 10 and almost half by age 11, the Socialist-led coalition government said in June explained bill to protect minors, which proposes that parental controls be installed as standard on smartphones and that a national education campaign be rolled out to help children and teenagers navigate social media.

The bill also includes new data requirements that, if enforced, would raise the minimum age for opening a social media account from 14 to 16, while training teachers and health care workers to identify children struggling with possible smartphone addictions.

The draft legislation, which is in the public consultation phase, is expected to be further refined by the report, which was compiled with input from organizations such as the European Association for Digital Transition and paediatricians and psychiatrists.

The report also alluded to the role of the wider environment in limiting children’s exposure, and called for training programs aimed at families, where experts could answer questions about how to keep children safe online and how to limit access and exposure, and urged schools to remove all educational applications on an instant gratification basis.