Context :
Greece
Developing App to Curb Excessive Internet Use by Young People
Extract :
In
an effort to curb excessive internet use among young people, Greece announced
plans to launch a government-operated app designed to enhance parental oversight of mobile devices in 2025.
Why It Matters
The app comes
after a recent survey conducted by KMOP, a
prominent Greek research organization, highlighted the urgency of such
measures. { info.education-hub@kmop.org
}
The study
revealed that 76.6 percent of children aged 9-12 regularly access the internet via
personal devices with 58.6
percent engaging with social media daily. Alarmingly, 22.8 percent of these young users have encountered inappropriate content,
yet many remain unaware of basic safety features like blocking or reporting
harmful interactions.
What To Know
Dimitris
Papastergiou, Greece's minister of digital governance, said the Kids Wallet
app, due to launch in March, aims to safeguard children under the age of 15
from the risks of excessive and inappropriate internet use.
The
app will operate via a widely adopted government services platform and
integrate seamlessly with an existing smartphone app used by adults to carry
digital identification documents.
Papastergiou
said the app's dual functionality will integrate advanced algorithms to monitor
usage and apply strict authentication processes.
According to
Papastergiou, the app will also help hold social media platforms more
accountable for enforcing age controls.
These
online child protection measures would go further than regulations already in
place in several European countries by introducing more direct government
involvement.
What
People Are Saying
Papastergiou told reporters: "It's a big change. The Kids Wallet application
will do two main things: It will make parental control much easier, and it will
be our official national tool for verifying the age of users."
Meanwhile, in the U.S. parenting
coach Liat Hughes Joshi previously told Newsweek that
internet access could
be beneficial for young people when used properly.
She
said: "We need to be having more nuanced conversations, not just about
quantity of tech use but quality. Educational activities such as learning to code or picking
up a foreign language for example, or playing chess online. Carefully used, the
internet can also be a place to find emotional
support and advice if
they're experiencing a difficult situation, such as being bullied."
Former teacher Mike Bonitatibus previously told Newsweek about
the concerns he saw between children raised with unfiltered internet access
from birth and those whose screen time was carefully moderated by their
parents.
"In my observation, children who
grow up with moderated internet access tend to develop stronger social skills,
better discipline, and the ability to remain focused on tasks. In contrast,
those raised with unrestricted access to devices often find social
interactions difficult and may exhibit more defiance and disrespect. It was
concerning to see previously respectful students conforming to a culture of
disengagement and disrespect toward authority figures," Bonitatibus said.
What Happens
Next
Papastergiou
said the government was hoping to have the children's app pre-installed on smartphones sold in Greece by the end of 2025.
My Take :
I cannot escape the feeling that the Kids Wallet app ( proposed by Greek Government ) , may not achieve the objective of “ weaning “ the children away from excessive visits to
Social Media such as Instagram – Tik Tok – Twitter – Facebook etc
Reason ?
My guess is that children are influenced as follows :
Ø Govt ( Fear of Law ) …………………………. 5 %
Ø Parental Admonition ………………………….25 %
Ø Peer Pressure …………………………………… 70 %
Given this scenario , if a child finds that her friends / classmates are
using their Mobiles to “ Get
Ahead “ of the rest of the pack, by asking ( in GREEK language or 25
other global languages ) , “ Syllabus Related Questions
“ on www.My-Teacher.in , then she
is likely to spend less time on the BAD media
and spend more time on APPROPRIATE media
Dear Parents – Principals –
Teachers :
Human brain hates “ Thought Vacuum “ . Like air rushing in to fill up
vacuum, BAD online content will rush into the
brains of children “ enslaving / addicting “
them , unless it is replaced by GOOD content
which helps them acquire skills / knowledge that “ liberates “ .
With regards,
Hemen Parekh
www.My-Teacher.in / 31
Dec 2024
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