Niels Zagema of the National Youth Council did not plead in Brussels for an age limit, but for slower algorithms in social media apps. 'Our brains must be able to keep up with our thumbs.'

At the age of ten, Niels Zagema (24) already had a Hyves account, and in recent years he regularly spent nine hours a day on his phone, mainly watching YouTube videos.

And he is not the only one. Generation Z (born between 1996 and 2010) has a total screen time averaging 9.2 hours per day, according to research by Netwerk Mediawijsheid last year. Of that, an average of 4.2 hours is spent on smartphones. During those hours, there is a lot of scrolling on social media. "Almost all young people say: without realizing it, we just spend too much time on our phones," says Zagema.

Nowadays, the robotics student from Enschede has less time for that. In addition to his studies, he is a youth representative for European Affairs for the National Youth Council. As such, he joined the discussions in Brussels about precisely those social media.

'Invite us too'

There is growing attention for the negative effects of apps like Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat on the mental health of young people. Earlier this year, the French parliament, following Australia, voted in favor of a ban on social media for children under 15. Last month, the United Kingdom followed with similar plans.

Zagema participated in the EU advisory panel that published its advice on the online safety of minors this week. It strongly urges parents to allow children aged 3 to 12 to use social media only under their supervision, or for educational purposes. Up to the age of 18, young people should gradually be granted more digital autonomy.

Quote from Niels Zagema .

'You can implement a ban, but when someone turns thirteen, fifteen, or sixteen and is allowed on social media, that must also go well.'

Niels Zagema

The fact that young people were allowed to have a say in that advice is actually thanks to Zagema and his 'colleagues'. When they saw that there were very few young people on the participant list, he proposed that they join the table.

Zagema is already on a personal youth advisory council that Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, established nine months ago. The first meeting was about social media. "We said: invite us to that expert council as well, because we believe that the youth voice must also be represented there."

The videos are becoming increasingly extreme

According to Zagema, an age limit is not a solution. "You can implement a ban, but when someone turns thirteen, fifteen, or sixteen and is allowed on social media, that must also go well. The addictive and harmful elements must be addressed."

According to Zagema, this addiction and harm occur because we do not always notice how tech companies play on our instincts. For instance, many apps have a built-in 'periodic variable reward system'. In other words, when you see nice content, it releases dopamine. But not every video is equally stimulating.

"So you don't know when you will get a nice video again. But because you want dopamine, you keep scrolling in search of the next hit. At the same time, you become more desensitized to it, so it takes longer and the videos become more extreme. This causes you to become more focused on those social media and less on your surroundings."

Thus, you unconsciously keep watching, only to realize with surprise that five hours have passed. Wasting time is one thing, but there are also concerns about other consequences of excessive social media use. Think of addiction, cyberbullying, and misleading advertisements. "The digital world is as diverse as the physical world, and so are its problems," says Zagema.

Big tech tricks

Young people on the internet seem to be getting more critical of certain social media use. Brainrot became a popular term to describe content that, according to Zagema, 'makes no sense, yet is catchy, in which a lot happens without any specific purpose'. Think of an animated head spinning around in a toilet bowl to music. "It is that feeling of half-regret after watching those videos."

But at the same time, all kinds of social media have become indispensable in the lives of many young people. "I am of the school that says social media is not inherently bad. I also see many positive aspects. We need to look specifically at how young people can benefit."

Therefore, Zagema does not advocate for a ban, but for more 'friction' in the fast-paced online world. This could be done by making it mandatory to disable certain functions EU-wide up to a certain age, stricter rules for algorithms, or a strong Digital Fairness Act, legislation meant to curb addictive elements. As long as app users have to put in just a little effort to find information, entertainment, and social contacts.

"Our brains must be able to keep up with our thumbs, so that we are sufficiently aware of what we are doing on the internet. If we let everything run on autopilot with algorithms, the system controls us, not us controlling the system. We must put an end to the tricks that big tech unleashes on us unregulated."

Source: Trouw / https://archive.is/oNzWz