The Generalitat de Catalunya advises on the use of screens among children and young people

The Generalitat de Catalunya has recently published a series of guidelines to address the relationship between children, adolescents and young people and digital devices. In this regard, the Generalitat de Catalunya has differentiated between several age groups. Firstly, in the '0 to 3: interaction, bonding, play and exploration' range, the use of screens is discouraged and occasional use for family video conferences, supervised by an adult, is recommended. Then, in the '4-6: prioritizing play, movement, bonding and exploration of the environment' range, limited exposure is advised, of a maximum of thirty minutes, on one day of the week and it is recommended that the child does not use them independently and is always accompanied by an adult. Next, in the '7-11: learning digital, emotional and critical skills' band, limited, accompanied and progressive exposure is advised, especially to digital devices with Internet access, and the use of phones with Internet or access to social networks is not recommended. Next, in the '12-15: dialogue, trust, critical thinking and progressive autonomy ' band, the use of parental supervision tools is advised that allow limiting content consumption and connection time, as well as prioritizing mobile phones without Internet and delaying the arrival of the first smartphone. Later, in the '16-18: moving towards autonomy and participation' band , it is recommended to encourage the autonomous, critical and conscious use of digital technologies, continue with parental accompaniment and family, open and shared reflection and promote spaces for digital disconnection. Finally, the Generalitat de Catalunya has collected some final reflections aimed at people over the age of 18 on the need to establish a balanced and respectful relationship with devices, becoming aware of screen time and taking care of disconnection spaces.