Fighting the smartphone ‘invasion’: the French village that voted to ban scrolling in public
Seine-Port is introducing restrictions on phone use in streets, shops and parks – but young people say there’s little else to do Angelique Chrisafis Angelique Chrisafis in Seine-Port @achrisafis Sat 10 Feb 2024 05.00 GMT
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.
I agree with your point that digital media influences and transformed the way we interact whith each others, and I believe there are studies indicating that young people feel more isolated, which could be a causality of rising smartphone usage.
And I agree, that this needs to be addressed, especially in the face of addiction. The way the french policy handles this though is to create an insentive for people to stay inside, because there they can still use their devices without being questioned or judged, further singleing those out, who already struggle in public using their phone as a lifeline.
The questions that need to be asked here is why people are so eager to use digital devices? Because they are developed in a way to make the user addicted.