“Just five more minutes!” Those are the famous five minutes that never obey the household timer. In a Paris home, a 14-year-old boy is glued to his mobile phone. His mother shouts, “The food is getting cold!” His father, half angry and half pleading, says, “Put the phone down.” The boy turns around and says, “Dad, this is the last video.”

It isn’t the last video. Auto-play turns those five minutes into fifty, and the food, of course, goes cold. Also read: ‘पांच मिनट!’ ने फ्रांस को दिया झकझोर और भारत हुआ सोचने पर मजबूर

The scene is French, but the ending could easily be Indian too. A question is gaining ground in Paris: how much freedom should children have in the digital world? France introduced a strict law to restrict social media access for children under 15. The intention may have been to protect children, but in August, France’s Constitutional Council ruled that a complete ban could go too far, affecting freedom of expression and privacy. In other words, protecting children from the digital world should not turn them into ‘digital prisoners’.

President Emmanuel Macron has not given up. A new proposal has emerged: parental consent for children aged 13 to 15, no notifications at night, restrictions on auto-play and limits on contact with strangers. In simple language: We may not shut the door, but we will put a mesh on the windows.

India cannot afford to watch this drama from a distance. With more than a billion internet users, Instagram and YouTube have become part of everyday life for millions of teenagers. YouTube can be a blessing for education. But sometimes it can also become a spicy trap. One click, and suddenly you are in an ‘unsafe area’. The child then says the same thing: “Just five minutes…”. And before you know it, those five minutes have become as long as an examination paper.

India’s 2023 Digital Personal Data Protection law is a good beginning. Verifiable parental consent and restrictions on targeted advertising to children are important steps. But the real test lies on the ground.

A child can simply enter a false date of birth, and the whole system can become a no-show. Hiding one’s age online can be as easy as copying from the back bench during an examination — only smarter. So, should India simply impose a ban, as France initially tried to do?

India and France live in different digital realities. There is a rural-urban digital gap, varying levels of digital awareness among parents, and an internet that provides enormous opportunities. Cutting children off from it may not be the right answer. Millions of children use the internet for education, skills and information about jobs. 

Shutting it down would not be a cure. It could be surgery performed with the needle in the wrong place. The proposed way forward is simple: not prohibition, but responsibility. Strengthen parental consent. Improve age-verification technology. Put greater emphasis on digital literacy in schools.

Social media platforms must also be held accountable. Features such as auto-play, endless notifications and addictive design need stronger regulation. Children should have a ‘digital break’ mode, notifications should be blocked at night, and parents and teachers should get simple, practical tools.

Small changes can make a big difference. The mobile phone is no longer just a phone. It is a school in the pocket, a playground, and sometimes a doorway to trouble.

The digital genie is already out of the bottle. Putting it back is difficult. But who holds the reins is a decision still in our hands.

Children need protection, but that protection should not come at the cost of freedom and privacy.

France is searching for a way forward. India should learn from its experience, but think carefully before cutting and shutting.

Your child will say, “Just five more minutes.” But who will decide whether those five minutes really remain five, or quietly turn into fifty?