外刊阅读 | 卫报 | 你家小孩玩手机时间长吗？

Because hydrogen is so light, a large volume of gas is needed to produce a train-fleet-fueling amount of electricity, making it not an especially energy dense fuel.

由于氢气非常轻，因此需要大量的气体才能产生为火车供电所需的电量，因此它并不是一种能量密度特别高的燃料。

The Guardian view on children and smartphones: setting some limits is a good idea

《卫报》对儿童和智能手机的看法：设定一些限制是个好主意

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With the advent of smartphones and smartwatches, human life has moved online. Anyone seeking to curtail young people’s participation in the online world is as doomed as the fools who can’t figure out how to use the wishes gifted them in fairytales. The social ills blamed on the internet have complex causes that can’t be fixed by blocking children’s access.

This is a caricature of the tech-positive outlook. In real life, most people recognise that the portable computers we carry around with us make excessive demands on our time and attention. Just as children need support to develop healthy eating habits, they need encouragement to use the internet in moderation – especially when very young. But reluctance to give in to unrealistic “ban them!” messages about smartphones can shade into an impression that there is really nothing to be done. Or that if there is, it should be done by parents.

Jonathan Haidt, the American social psychologist, is the most prominent advocate of the opposite view on smartphones. His book The Anxious Generation makes the controversial claim that their use has caused a huge rise in teenage mental illness, particularly among girls, and that collective action is needed to reverse this. His critics say that he oversimplifies the problem. But in recent months, policymakers around the world have appeared increasingly receptive. The Australian government is considering raising the minimum age for social media use from 13 to 16, while officials across Europe are implementing tighter restrictions.

The UK has some of the strictest legislation in the world to protect children online – although campaigners are concerned about implementation. Earlier this year, the government issued guidance encouraging schools to ban the use of phones during lunchtimes as well as lessons, and last week another warning was sounded. In his review of the NHS in England, Lord Darzi acknowledged that it was “unlikely that the dramatic rise in mental health needs is wholly unconnected from social media” but could not say whether it was the “cause or the consequence of depression”.

One academy chain in England has taken matters into its own hands. In its 44 schools, pupils will have their phones taken away during the school day. Peter Kyle, the science secretary, has said he would consider following Australia in banning social media accounts for under-16s. Smartphone use is not the biggest challenge facing schools in England or the rest of the UK. Teacher shortages, child poverty and a funding gap need to be addressed. Against this backdrop, phone bans can be viewed as a gimmick that could even distract from the bigger issue of age limits – any raising of which the tech companies are certain to fight.

Journal：theguardian

Title：The Guardian view on children and smartphones: setting some limits is a good idea（16 Sep 2024）

Category：Editorial

There are good reasons to act.

我们有充分的理由采取行动。

Communal efforts to carve out device-free time in children’s lives, and build resistance against big tech’s attention-greedy business model, are important.

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