French parents have a "headache" controlling their children's phone use.

On online forums, many French parents admit to being "helpless" in the face of their children's mischief as they try to "extend their smartphone usage time."

Despite applying many control measures, parents in France remain helpless against their children's sophisticated ability to circumvent limits to prolong their time using smartphones and social networks.

This issue is increasingly causing concern not only within the family but also at the societal level, when the story of managing “screen time” of adolescents is placed in direct connection with public health.

Camille, 47, mother of a girl who is almost 15, said she is in a state of “constant vigilance.”

Despite setting a limit of only two hours of WhatsApp and Snapchat usage per day, and setting the device to automatically shut down from 11 p.m. to the next morning, her daughter still found a way to "cross the line."

One time, she pretended to forget her password to remove all the restrictions that had been set, leading to her staying up all night with her phone in her hand. “The next day, I found out because she was sleep deprived. Since then, I have had to change the password regularly,” she shared.

Camille's case is not isolated.

On online forums like Reddit, many parents admit to being "at a loss" in the face of their children's mischief.

A mother said her son could use his phone day and night despite setting limits, prompting her to ask the online community for a more thorough technical solution to block it.

Simon, 45, says his 15-year-old son has figured out “many hurdle strategies” in just two years.

In addition to trying all kinds of passwords, from birth dates to familiar numbers, the boy even set up a situation so that his father would be forced to provide the password.

Notably, his son also secretly bought an old iPhone for 30 euros (about 33 USD) online and installed a SIM card to use it in parallel.

Not only do French teenagers manage on their own, they also openly share their “tips” on social networks.

Several viral videos on TikTok show how to change your date of birth to bypass minimum age restrictions, which are meant to restrict access to people under 13 or limit features to people under 18.

These situations highlight the growing technological divide between parents and their children. Many parents are less tech-savvy, while the younger generation has grown up with smartphones and social media, quickly seizing every loophole to exploit.

From the family level, the problem has spread to the whole society.

A recent report by the French National Assembly proposed drastic measures: completely banning children under 15 from using social networks and applying a “digital curfew” for those aged 15-18.

According to health experts, this is to prevent consequences for teenagers' mental health, sleep and ability to concentrate, which are clearly affected by excessive exposure to screens.

However, the question is whether technical control tools and legal regulations are enough to cope with the creativity of the younger generation in the digital environment.

As minors always find ways to circumvent the law, this “war” is not only a problem in each family but also a big challenge for the whole society in balancing technology, education and health of future generations./.

(TTXVN/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/phu-huynh-phap-dau-dau-kiem-soat-viec-dung-dien-thoai-cua-con-tre-post1061674.vnp