The AFAs of Pla de Mallorca unite to delay the first mobile phone until 14 years old

PalmThe Parents' Associations of the primary schools of Pla and IES Sineu have taken a step forward to curb the early use of digital devices among the youngest. According to the digital magazine Díngola, the entities have agreed on a collective commitment document for parents to voluntarily agree not to give smartphones to their children at least until the second year of ESO.

This initiative stems from the shared concern about the effects that premature access to the internet and social networks has on minors and is inspired by the movement Adolescencia Libre de Móviles (Mobile-Free Adolescence), which has already gained traction in other towns such as Binissalem or Palma and is now spreading, for the moment, throughout the towns of Pla de Mallorca with students at IES Sineu. These are the municipalities of Lloret, Sencelles, Costitx, Sineu, Sant Joan, Petra, Maria, Llubí, and Ariany.

The main objective of this strategy is to reduce social pressure, since if the majority of families in the same group decide not to buy the device, the child's feeling of exclusion is eliminated and management within the home is facilitated.

In a letter sent to the families of fourth, fifth, and sixth grade of Primary, the family associations detail a series of risks backed by health and education professionals, among which they highlight exposure to inappropriate content, the risk of cyberbullying, the negative impact on self-esteem, and sleep disturbances that directly affect academic performance. Likewise, they warn about the increase in addictive behaviors and the decrease in time dedicated to in-person social interaction and physical activity.

The document establishes clear time thresholds and proposes that digital education be progressive and adapted to the maturity of minors. For this reason, signing families commit to not providing mobile phones with internet access throughout Primary school and to extend this decision until they are fourteen years old, although the manifesto emphasizes that it would be preferable to wait until they are sixteen, coinciding with the end of the ESO stage. In exceptional cases where a device is necessary for communication purposes, the use of basic devices without a camera or data connection is recommended.

With this coordinated action, Pla de Mallorca positions itself as an active region in the protection of children in the face of the challenges of the digital world.