Reclaiming Childhood

BIG PICTURE OF THE SITUATION IN FINLAND

Social media and smartphone use are now deeply embedded in daily life for many Finnish children and teens. For a substantial share, daily use levels are high (several hours), and for a notable minority, use is high enough to be potentially problematic — associated with mental health and well-being issues, academic difficulties, and social risks. At the same time, younger children are not immune: survey data suggest that even in lower school grades, some children report problematic net use.

Because of these risks, there is growing awareness among parents, educators, and policymakers in Finland of the need to balance digital media with healthy habits — such as sleep, physical activity, face-to-face social interactions, and supervised online safety. Schools around Finland are now considering how to implement the telephone ban in practice.

“50 per cent of Finnish young people say they are online even when they don’t want to. In my opinion, I think they are pretty much crying for help and it would be time for us adults to take responsibility”