Seine-Port is introducing restrictions on phone use in streets, shops and parks – but young people say there’s little else to do
A picture of a smartphone with a red line through it serves as a warning in the window of a hairdresser’s shop in a French village that has voted to ban people scrolling on their phones in public. “Everyone is struggling with too much screen time,” said Ludivine, a cardiology nurse, as she had her hair cut into a bob, leaving her phone out of sight in her bag. “I voted in favour, this could be a solution.”
Seine-Port, in the Seine-et-Marne area south of Paris, with a population of fewer than 2,000 people, last weekend voted yes in a referendum to restrict smartphone use in public, banning adults and children from scrolling on their devices while walking down the street, while sitting with others on a park bench, while in shops, cafes or eating in restaurants and while parents wait for their children in front of the school gates. Those who might check their phone’s map when lost are instead being encouraged to ask for directions.
The village has also approved a charter for families on children’s use of screens: no screens of any kind in the morning, no screens in bedrooms, no screens before bed or during meals. If parents of teenagers sign a written agreement not to give their child a smartphone before the age of 15, the town hall will provide the child with an old-fashioned handset for calls only.
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I’ve walked into others and others have walked into me without a phone. Should we ban kids from being in public because they’re more likely to run into people? Plus the law doesn’t ban the use of phones only when walking, nor does it ban one from looking at other distractions while walking such as books or magazines, so that’s clearly not the motivation behind it.
Alternatively, if smartphone bans can be justified why draw the line there and not go further? Should we restrict gay couples from making public displays of affection? Or restrict what clothes women can wear? These things can distract/upset some people, and they may not want their kids to see it either.
There’s obviously a certain balance between freedom and safety/order that we need to achieve for a functioning society, but banning phones is not on that balance.
It’s not an enforceable ordinance. The article literally says the police can’t stop or fine anyone for it.
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Emphasis on in the home. I guess I was mainly responding to the idea that kids shouldn’t have access to screens at home.