Seine-Port is introducing restrictions on phone use in streets, shops and parks – but young people say there’s little else to do

Fighting the smartphone ‘invasion’: the French village that voted to ban scrolling in public

Seine-Port is introducing restrictions on phone use in streets, shops and parks – but young people say there’s little else to do Angelique Chrisafis Angelique Chrisafis in Seine-Port @achrisafis Sat 10 Feb 2024 05.00 GMT

A picture of a smartphone with a red line through it serves as a warning in the window of a hairdresser’s shop in a French village that has voted to ban people scrolling on their phones in public. “Everyone is struggling with too much screen time,” said Ludivine, a cardiology nurse, as she had her hair cut into a bob, leaving her phone out of sight in her bag. “I voted in favour, this could be a solution.”

Seine-Port, in the Seine-et-Marne area south of Paris, with a population of fewer than 2,000 people, last weekend voted yes in a referendum to restrict smartphone use in public, banning adults and children from scrolling on their devices while walking down the street, while sitting with others on a park bench, while in shops, cafes or eating in restaurants and while parents wait for their children in front of the school gates. Those who might check their phone’s map when lost are instead being encouraged to ask for directions.

  • freedomPusherEnglish
    3·
    10 months ago

    My first thought: what about navigation? From the article:

    Those who might check their phone’s map when lost are instead being encouraged to ask for directions.

    Yikes. I wonder if car drivers are allowed to use their built-in satnavs while cyclists are prohibited from using OpenStreetMaps strapped to their forearm.

    I would agree a lot of smartphone use is poor etiquette, but whenever I ask someone for directions they pull out their smartphone to help answer the question. My French is dysfunctional so I would be fucked in that area.