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In an interview with Europa Press Infosalus, he argues that the issue of screens and minors will not be resolved until «governments take drastic measures,» but he asserts that «the good news» is that «there is a solution.»
On one hand, we asked this expert how screen abuse affects adults, pointing mainly to distraction and time loss: «We live in a generation of very distracted adults. It’s hard for us to concentrate in a world full of interruptions, and days spent answering messages and emails. We lack depth in our work, especially in intellectual work, and we waste time and lose hours of sleep. But adults have a developed prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that controls those instinctual impulses for instant gratification, and we can have more self-control in that regard.»
However, he does warn about the serious impact screens can have on minors, whose prefrontal cortex is not fully developed because it stops developing at age 25. «Minors today who are exposed to screens lack self-control. Social media AI algorithms are designed to easily make minors spend up to 7 hours a day on screens, immersed in a passive state of fascination instead of engaging their intelligence in physical activities, which significantly deteriorates their intellectual capacity and mental health,» laments this Public Health professor.
In this sense, Dr. Martínez-González warns of the precautions that must be taken regarding Internet use in minors, with pornography readily available and easily accessible, without restrictions. «The viewing of these contents embeds in the developing brains of minors behaviors that have nothing to do with reality. Behaviors of abuse and mistreatment towards women, bad behaviors and even violence towards women, far from a healthy sexuality; something that in the long term deteriorates the ability to relate, to develop emotional bonds,» he asserts.
He argues that «never before» had society suffered the current epidemic of mental health problems among minors as it does today. «I know psychiatrists who are scared.»
THE BIGGEST MISTAKE STARTS AT HOME
Therefore, this professor from the University of Navarra and Harvard emphasizes the importance of parents setting an example with the use of devices and screens. «Parents must set a good example for their children, and earn their moral authority. It is the first solution, to control screen time, establish schedules, know how to separate and not give the impression that parents are addicted to screens, because everything that happens with children is a result of what happens with parents,» he adds.
In his opinion, «the worst thing a parent can do while talking to their child is to look at the mobile screen.» At this point, he points out that there is extensive research on the damage this attitude of parents causes to the mental health of children, «because screens also hook parents and they must never give the impression to their children that they have lost freedom and control.»
He recommends not using the phone on the street, not placing the phone on the table while eating, «it should be in the bag or pocket, out of sight, with notifications turned off when with children, so that the children realize how parents have a constant struggle with the phone and do not waste time on social networks and mobile leisure activities.» Basically, if they use it, it should be for work purposes only because «it is a very good work tool,» but nothing more.
NO MOBILE UNTIL 18
Similarly, we asked this expert about another of his main recommendations, which is not to give a mobile phone to minors until they are 18 years old. «I think that in a few years it will seem absurd to have given a mobile phone to a minor before the age of 18. There are scientific arguments to support this. The ‘everyone has one’ is not true because there are parents who wait until their children are 18 to give them a mobile phone,» Martínez-González considers.
He finds it surprising that «zapatophones» or first mobile phones without internet connection are currently being sold frequently. He argues that it is dangerous for a minor under 18 to have a device with internet access.
«When you write with a finger on semi-liquid cement, nothing remains, but when it is dry and hard, nothing stays. This is what happens to a teenager if you give them a phone before the age of 18, in the middle of their brain development. All the codes of perverse conduct on social media about why to commit suicide, take pills, do drugs, among others, for a person of that age, are codes that are embedded forever, like treating women as objects of pleasure, to use and discard, all of this is constantly perpetuated on social media and they spend hours immersed in it, it is often irreversible damage,» this expert insists.
MINORS DON’T BECOME ISOLATED
Contrary to the argument that minors will become isolated because they do not have a mobile phone to communicate with others, Miguel Ángel Martínez-González rejects this idea by indicating that they can always call the mother’s phone to let her know where their friends are meeting.
«There is no study that has shown that not having a mobile phone until 18 harms the mental health, values, and future behavior of minors; however, there are numerous scientific studies that do confirm the harm that mobile phones cause to minors. Just as you cannot drive until 18, you also should not have a mobile phone with an internet connection until 18,» he emphasizes.
He is deeply concerned about his students’ lack of sleep and how screen use influences this, as electronic devices «rob hours of sleep,» so another of his recommendations is to stop using them at night before going to bed, to stop using them at a certain time of day.
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In an interview with Europa Press Infosalus, he argues that the issue of screens and minors will not be resolved until «governments take drastic measures,» but he asserts that «the good news» is that «there is a solution.»
On one hand, we asked this expert how screen abuse affects adults, pointing mainly to distraction and time loss: «We live in a generation of very distracted adults. It’s hard for us to concentrate in a world full of interruptions, and days spent answering messages and emails. We lack depth in our work, especially in intellectual work, and we waste time and lose hours of sleep. But adults have a developed prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that controls those instinctual impulses for instant gratification, and we can have more self-control in that regard.»
However, he does warn about the serious impact screens can have on minors, whose prefrontal cortex is not fully developed because it stops developing at age 25. «Minors today who are exposed to screens lack self-control. Social media AI algorithms are designed to easily make minors spend up to 7 hours a day on screens, immersed in a passive state of fascination instead of engaging their intelligence in physical activities, which significantly deteriorates their intellectual capacity and mental health,» laments this Public Health professor.
In this sense, Dr. Martínez-González warns of the precautions that must be taken regarding Internet use in minors, with pornography readily available and easily accessible, without restrictions. «The viewing of these contents embeds in the developing brains of minors behaviors that have nothing to do with reality. Behaviors of abuse and mistreatment towards women, bad behaviors and even violence towards women, far from a healthy sexuality; something that in the long term deteriorates the ability to relate, to develop emotional bonds,» he asserts.
He argues that «never before» had society suffered the current epidemic of mental health problems among minors as it does today. «I know psychiatrists who are scared.»
THE BIGGEST MISTAKE STARTS AT HOME
Therefore, this professor from the University of Navarra and Harvard emphasizes the importance of parents setting an example with the use of devices and screens. «Parents must set a good example for their children, and earn their moral authority. It is the first solution, to control screen time, establish schedules, know how to separate and not give the impression that parents are addicted to screens, because everything that happens with children is a result of what happens with parents,» he adds.
In his opinion, «the worst thing a parent can do while talking to their child is to look at the mobile screen.» At this point, he points out that there is extensive research on the damage this attitude of parents causes to the mental health of children, «because screens also hook parents and they must never give the impression to their children that they have lost freedom and control.»
He recommends not using the phone on the street, not placing the phone on the table while eating, «it should be in the bag or pocket, out of sight, with notifications turned off when with children, so that the children realize how parents have a constant struggle with the phone and do not waste time on social networks and mobile leisure activities.» Basically, if they use it, it should be for work purposes only because «it is a very good work tool,» but nothing more.
NO MOBILE UNTIL 18
Similarly, we asked this expert about another of his main recommendations, which is not to give a mobile phone to minors until they are 18 years old. «I think that in a few years it will seem absurd to have given a mobile phone to a minor before the age of 18. There are scientific arguments to support this. The ‘everyone has one’ is not true because there are parents who wait until their children are 18 to give them a mobile phone,» Martínez-González considers.
He finds it surprising that «zapatophones» or first mobile phones without internet connection are currently being sold frequently. He argues that it is dangerous for a minor under 18 to have a device with internet access.
«When you write with a finger on semi-liquid cement, nothing remains, but when it is dry and hard, nothing stays. This is what happens to a teenager if you give them a phone before the age of 18, in the middle of their brain development. All the codes of perverse conduct on social media about why to commit suicide, take pills, do drugs, among others, for a person of that age, are codes that are embedded forever, like treating women as objects of pleasure, to use and discard, all of this is constantly perpetuated on social media and they spend hours immersed in it, it is often irreversible damage,» this expert insists.
MINORS DON’T BECOME ISOLATED
Contrary to the argument that minors will become isolated because they do not have a mobile phone to communicate with others, Miguel Ángel Martínez-González rejects this idea by indicating that they can always call the mother’s phone to let her know where their friends are meeting.
«There is no study that has shown that not having a mobile phone until 18 harms the mental health, values, and future behavior of minors; however, there are numerous scientific studies that do confirm the harm that mobile phones cause to minors. Just as you cannot drive until 18, you also should not have a mobile phone with an internet connection until 18,» he emphasizes.
He is deeply concerned about his students’ lack of sleep and how screen use influences this, as electronic devices «rob hours of sleep,» so another of his recommendations is to stop using them at night before going to bed, to stop using them at a certain time of day.
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FUENTE