Spain's PM publishes Financial Times piece urging social media ban for young people

Pedro Sánchez calls in the Financial Times for shielding young people from social media

Spain's Prime Minister publishes an article in the Financial Times arguing that social media should be restricted for minors, citing a 13% increase in the risk of depression for every hour of use. The paradox — that the message is spread in a digital outlet and that Sánchez himself is an active Twitter user — has not gone unnoticed. The article, titled "Why we must shield our children from social media", invokes the image of a child factory worker in 1910 to compare industrial child exploitation with today's digital exposure.

The 13% figure: science or slogan?
The article's headline number — "every hour on social media increases the probability of depression by 13%" — has been met with skepticism. Critics point out that, applying linear logic, eight hours a day would lead to 100% depression, turning any connected teenager into a clinical case. The absence of any reference to the specific study fuels doubts about the empirical basis of the claim. Others, however, argue that simply putting the focus on the problem is a positive thing, regardless of the accuracy of the percentage.

Between protection and control
The debate is polarized between those who see the proposal as a necessary measure for children's mental health, and those who interpret it as an attempt to limit access to uncontrolled sources of information. The coincidence with Greece, which has already banned social media for minors, reinforces the idea of a European trend. The harshest critics point out that the Government itself uses social media and bots for propaganda, and that ending online anonymity — as Von der Leyen has announced — could be the next step towards widespread surveillance.

The messenger's hypocrisy
Calling out "techno-oligarchs" from the pages of the FT, a publication that lives off digital traffic, while tweeting non-stop, creates a contradiction that is hard to ignore. "He should start by deleting his own accounts," some quip; "it's like a smoker banning tobacco," others conclude. The question left hanging: is this a genuine crusade for childhood, or a move to disable social media as a megaphone for dissent?

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