Many parents believe that mobile devices contribute to the development of their children, but French lawmakers have voted to ban smartphones and tablets for children under 15 from schools across the country. This new law will apply from the new academic year, which will begin in September.
Smartphones have been banned in primary and secondary school classrooms in France for several years, but they are allowed in other areas of schools. This new law prohibits the use of these devices in all school buildings, although secondary schools may continue to use them for extracurricular activities or in the case of pupils with disabilities.
French Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquet has already commented on this case, claiming that children stop playing during the break because they are connected to their smartphone, which is completely negative for their children’s education.
He also suggested that “safe deposit boxes” should be set up in the schools so that the children could store their equipment when they arrived at the facility, but the experts soon replied that this was a logistical challenge. With the new measure, students simply have to leave their smartphones and trays at home or simply turn them off before going to school.
According to Blanquet, this law takes France into the 21st century and sends a clear message to French society and other countries around the world about how mobile devices affect the important physical interactions that children must have at an early stage of development.
In France, at least 9 out of 10 young people between the ages of 12 and 17 have a smartphone that highlights the concerns of legislators about the adoption of the measure.
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