Feb 05, 2026
3 min read
Thoughts on Sánchez's proposal to ban social networks for children under 16 and the importance of digital education for young people
Sanchez bans social media for under 16s?I suspend judgment: maybe it's better to give them experience
The youngest child directly gives me a cue.Cave, however, is already eighteen years old, that is, outside the confines of what Sanchez has planned and fully within the panacea of all the ills related to the Internet and its social media, old and new scores.
This, I speak well, they will say.Let there be hope, I will let it go, because it is not even sure.And in fact, as above, the idea was given by eighteen years: "For me, who puts himself in politics today, is a fool, because he has decided to submit to the stress of life," he said as he put two rigatons in his mouth at the same time.where the sister: "And then it depends on how much power you give."
To which he definitely said: "In my opinion, those like Zuckerberg really have power. Unfortunately or fortunately, people like him count. They say - he insists - and make the most of their talent. That's power, they move the right crowd. It's far...".
What follows are those five seconds in which I desperately search for an answer without finding it. An hour earlier it was known that Sanchez had declared war on the digital world and those who manage it, and I am a helpless witness to the confirmation that the axis of valuing what is important, for a generation raised on bread and wifi, is tilted stubbornly, but very straight towards what should be limited for us. To be regulated.
The new leaders wore sneakers and sweatshirts, and I laughed to myself.They don't know, because they never need it, what a pamphlet is and can't even pay for gas.You might think we've seen the great fortunes and progress of the bubble called the New Economy, making victims on the right, north and south.However.However, we are still a world of happy, white smiles and seemingly PCs.Next also need drinks.
Are you among us?- asked the elder.Here he is, I said.And I brought out Sanchez with a new contract.Let's see how it ends, they replied.This answer is good for all time, I told myself, but it's also good for those who don't want to split teams.If only I knew how to do it.
So Sanchez.You talked about the laws.And one in particular is the one that fascinates me more than the other, the one that should reduce, if not destroy, the spread of hate.Then there is also one that questions the founders of Grok, Tiktok and Instagram, as a direct responsibility for the crimes committed on the digital platforms they control.
Everything is good and God knows I do not fully subscribe to the five good rules, they are surprised that they are now flying in a country, let alone for us to see, with a GDP growth of more than +2.6%.Crazy stuff.
Instead of stopping, I repeat the magic word to myself.Rules.I look at the boys in front of me again.
A few days ago, for the first time, in a different context, the President of our Republic also named the rules.In my memory, I don't remember another statement like Mattarella's, recalling his commitment to respecting the community, under penalty of barbarity.
So all the clues lead me to praise Sanchez, how can I do otherwise.On the other hand, do you want to say No to manipulating algorithms and promoting illegal content for profit?Or the idea of platforms to verify the age of users, to create effective systems to prevent access to children under the age of 16?But then I think about the government of Madrid, which will cooperate with the prosecutor's office to expose and admit abuses of social media power, and I stop there.
The children must have noticed it too.I stop because the government, working with the Department, suddenly allows me to stop and allows me to say comfortably, but also less "certain violations" and above all "certain potential violations."Because one thing is certain, if it is determined which body - also an expert in the field of new media - acts as an evaluator and if there is a European one, or the resulting risk will become immense.What may be true in a progressive country is not true in another sovereign one.And who determines when content may be infringed?
It was no coincidence that Mattarella - always there thanks - referred to the rules, but linked them to Europe (another discussion, yes, a different situation, but the mechanism must always be triggered now: the norm? Europe. Otherwise we will be diluted in the mare magnum of the individualist lazy).
And so I ask my daughter: Do you remember when in the evening we were talking about what the reporters would suggest in the news and you already knew the facts because you had read them, I don't know where?Of course I remember, she replies, and my sources were never mainstream.As with the last events in Turin, I had seen all the pictures and quickly.She knew the good and the bad right away.She had an idea.Yes, she will protest, but she is twenty years old.This yes, counter-objection, but I haven't had one in three years.
I will read about Sanchez's motive and defer the sentence.Because if I accept some intentions in her work as a mother, as a journalist and as a citizen, I question myself.I don't know to what extent the restrictions and limitations imposed above can compensate for what is now considered a necessity: teaching how to read the web, teaching children to navigate through it, guiding them to avoid risks and avoid collateral damage.Give them awareness, this is the rule.Teaching digital education in schools, yes.i'm insideAlso, let's be clear, dear Spain and Italy: bans or no bans, even children under the age of sixteen will use the web and social media.So there is no point in delaying, it is better to educate yourself as early as possible.
Comparisons can be dangerous, but I don't think so.We learned to read because someone taught us.We moved between texts today as we moved between posts.Rock, read bad, read good, read everything.Then we discussed it and realized that there is no such thing as a bad novel or a bad teacher.There are dangers, and we are exposed to dangers of all kinds.We learned how to ride a bike because one day someone pushed us, let's go, fingers crossed he was out of sight.
I don't belong to the circle of people who say it's always better to do things elsewhere.But in northern Europe, children don't use training wheels to get on a bike, and learn to ride much earlier.Sixteen years ago.
