Mission Statement: to assist the integration of foreign residents living in Spain
By Johanna Gardener •
Published: 15 Nov 2024 • 9:25
• 2 minutes read
French people spend three and a half hours online of which half of the time is spent on large platforms
Credit:Shutterstock:Primakov
A recent survey across France reveals that people spend three and a half hours online everyday with half of this time dedicated to large platforms like Google and Facebook.
Everybody likes to spend a little time online. Whether its scouring the internet for the top news or scanning pages of Instagram for the most amusing posts, the internet can certainly feel like a daily fix for many of us. Yet what if this fix shifted into becoming a substantial part of our daily lives. In France it would seem that it already has.
A new survey across France has revealed that people spend not only a whopping three and a half hours online everyday, but that half of that time is dedicated to very large platforms classified by the European Commission as platforms reaching at least 45 million monthly active users. The report from the French Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication (ARCOM) collated data from 20,000 people aged 12 and over. It discovered that mammoth platforms like Google, YouTube, Facebook, and Snapchat make up nearly half of people’s time spent using the internet.
French people spend most time on social media platforms
Social media platforms seem to be the biggest internet haven where people tend to spend most time. In order of popularity, we have Snapchat followed by Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). Unsurprisingly, Snapchat and Tiktok were the favourites amongst a younger audience.
What about minors and unsuitable content online?
That brings us to the topic of our younger audiences. With so much time spent online, surely there are dangers for our youngest and dearest. Across Europe, there has been recent debate regarding underage minors accessing unsuitable content including gambling and pornography, with some countries already taking measures to mitigate content access via age-verification checks, including France. Those aged 12 to 17 years spend over half of their 116 monthly internet hours on Snapchat and Tiktok, prompting French President, Emmanuel Macron to consider a social media age restriction for teens under 15 – before this age, use would need to be monitored by a responsible adult. The French Committee added recommendations for no screen time under the age of three years.
16 per cent of visitors to pornographic websites are minors
Even more worrying is the fact that pornographic website Pornhub was visited heavily by minors – in fact this generation represented 16 per cent of its visitors. Teenagers aged 12 to 17 years represented 40 per cent of visitors to adult sites in general. These are worrying statistics, especially when much online content is not controlled and young people can be exposed to violent, perverse or distorted online content.
The EU does have measures in place. Its EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) compels very large platforms to manage their content including illegal material, misinformation, and user privacy. They are also obliged to ban advertisements based on profiling or personal data being aimed at minors.
Time will tell whether restrictions can be imposed across Europe to protect our young people but also raise awareness on the dangers of excessive screen time and internet overkill.
Sign up for personalised news
Subscribe to our Euro Weekly News alerts to get the latest stories into your inbox!
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don’t already have one. Review our
Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
Written by
Johanna Gardener
Originally from Manchester, UK and with a degree in English with Modern Foreign Languages, she has been a permanent resident in Spain for the past 12 years. Many of these years, she has spent working as a secondary school teacher, as well as in journalism, editing and marketing. She currently lives in the historic centre of Malaga, where she enjoys writing, walking and animals.
Leave a comment Cancel reply
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Website
Comment for robots
Known as the PEOPLE’S PAPER, Euro Weekly News is the leading English language newspaper in Spain. And it’s FREE!
Covering the Almeria, Axarquia, Costa Blanca North, Costa Blanca South, Costa del Sol , Costa Calida, Mallorca and beyond, EWN supports and inspires the individuals, neighbourhoods, and communities we serve, by delivering news with a social conscience. Whether it’s local news in Spain, UK news or international stories, we are proud to be the voice for the expat communities who now call Spain home.
With around half a million print readers a week and over 1.5 million web views per month, EWN has the biggest readership of any English language newspaper in Spain. The paper prints over 150 news stories a week with many hundreds more on the web – no one else even comes close.
Our publication has won numerous awards over the last 25 years including Best Free Newspaper of the Year (Premios AEEPP), Company of the Year (Costa del Sol Business Awards) and Collaboration with Foreigners honours (Mijas Town Hall). All of this comes at ZERO cost to our readers. All our print and online content always has been and always will be FREE OF CHARGE.
Sign up for personalised news
Subscribe to our Euro Weekly News alerts to get the latest stories into your inbox!
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don’t already have one. Review our Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
Close
