News Investigation

Las familias se movilizan: "No es normal entregar un móvil a un niño de 12 años"

Nov 2023 🇪🇸 EFE (via Infobae) Ages 12–16

This EFE wire report, carried by Infobae, covers the rapid early growth of the Poblenou 'adolescencia libre de móviles' WhatsApp group Elisabet García Permanyer started in October 2023. Within days the group had grown to nearly 1,000 parents and educators planning awareness activities ahead of the holiday shopping season, when many Spanish families traditionally buy a child's first phone. García Permanyer, a mother of three who also runs a movement-based studio for young students, says she noticed relational friction among children with early phone access, and argues that treating age 12 as the default age for a first smartphone has become normalized without much scrutiny. The report also relays her characterization of specialists' views that younger adolescents' capacity to manage unrestricted internet access is still developing — presented as a case for caution, not a settled diagnosis.

~1,000 members

The Poblenou group organized by García Permanyer grew to nearly 1,000 parents and educators within days of forming in October 2023.

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CITATION

EFE. "Las familias se movilizan: 'No es normal entregar un móvil a un niño de 12 años.'" Infobae, November 1, 2023.

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