South Korea’s parliament on Wednesday passed a bill that would completely ban the use of mobile phones and other digital devices in schools across the country after finding that their children are constantly losing attention and eye health.
A lawmaker from the opposition People’s Power Party, Cho Jong-hoon, who is one of the sponsors of the bill, said, “Our children’s eyes are red every morning, they are on Instagram until 2 or 3 a.m. The bill has the support of both major political parties in parliament. Social media addiction among our youth has reached a dangerous level,” he said.
Australia recently tightened its initial restrictions on social media for teenagers, while the Netherlands has seen improved student attention in schools after a ban on mobile phones. South Korea is one of the few developed countries to restrict the use of smartphones and social media by minors.
According to Reuters, the law will come into effect at the start of the new school year in March 2026. The move is aimed at curbing the harmful effects of excessive social media use among young people.
According to the US research institute Pew Research Centre, South Korea is one of the most digitally connected countries in the world, with 99% of the population using the internet and 98 percent owning smartphones. This rate was the highest among 27 countries according to a survey conducted in 2022 and 2023.
It is to mentioning here that parents across the globe are worried about the use of smartphones for children as it not only affects their interest in study but also has a great impact on their attention to something important more than the mobile.
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