The World Is Finally Asking: Is This Too Much?

By Kai Turner

What are we giving our attention to?

Lately, I’ve noticed something about myself.

I’ll open my phone to check one thing — a message, a post, a notification — and somehow 20 minutes disappear. Not because I’m lost in something meaningful, but because my mind is quietly being pulled in five directions at once.

Nothing dramatic.
Nothing “wrong.”

Just… noise.

And the truth is, I like social media. I’ve built things on it. I’ve connected through it. I’ve learned from it.
This isn’t a post about deleting apps or shaming screens.

It’s about noticing what happens inside me when I don’t step away once in a while.

Why This Moment Feels Bigger Than Us

Right now, France is moving toward limiting social media access for kids under 15 — not out of fear, but concern. Mental health. Focus. Emotional development.

At the same time, platforms like Instagram are refining how they keep people engaged, especially younger users.

Two realities existing at once:
One asking for protection.
One optimizing for attention.

And most of us are standing somewhere in between, trying to live normal lives while our nervous systems quietly carry the cost.

📌 What France Is Actually Proposing

France is moving toward a draft law that would:

• Ban access to social media platforms for children under 15 starting around September 2026.

• Require legal age verification so platforms cannot legally allow under-15s to log in or create accounts.

• Expand existing school mobile phone bans — which already apply to younger kids — to include high school students as well.

• The government says the goal is to protect kids from excessive screen time, cyber-bullying exposure, and inappropriate content, and to support better sleep, focus, and emotional well-being.

France’s push follows other global moves in the same direction. The European Parliament has recently voted on recommendations setting a minimum age of 16 for social media access (with parental exceptions), and countries like Denmark are considering similar age restrictions.

🧠 Why It Matters

This isn’t just a policy debate — it’s part of a larger global conversation about how digital technology shapes kids’:

• attention and focus

• emotional development

• social comparison habits

• sleep and health

That’s why France’s proposal — and similar ones around the world — are gaining attention from both policymakers and parents alike.

What I Started Noticing in Myself

For me, it wasn’t anxiety or burnout in the dramatic sense.

It was subtler.

• A constant low-level restlessness
• Difficulty being fully present
• That urge to check something even when nothing was wrong

I wasn’t unhappy — just overstimulated.

And when I finally stepped back a bit, something surprising happened:
My thoughts slowed down.
My body softened.
Silence stopped feeling awkward.

That’s when I realized — the issue wasn’t social media itself.

It was how little space I gave myself away from it.

This Isn’t About Blame — It’s About Awareness

Platforms aren’t villains.
They’re tools designed to hold attention — and they’re very good at it.

But attention is a finite resource.
And when it’s constantly pulled outward, we slowly lose access to ourselves.

Not in a dramatic way.
In a quiet one.

That’s the part we don’t talk about enough.

The Better Method: Using Technology Without Losing Yourself

This isn’t about quitting apps or living offline.

It’s about creating gentle boundaries that let your nervous system breathe.

For me, that’s looked like:

• Not reaching for my phone the second I wake up

• Letting boredom exist without immediately filling it

• Being intentional about when I consume vs. when I create

Small shifts.
Big impact.

Maybe This Is the Real Question

Not “Is social media good or bad?”
But:

“How much of myself do I want to give to it?”

That answer will look different for everyone.

But asking the question at all?
That’s where clarity begins.

I’m Kai Turner

I write about the quiet ways modern life pulls us away from ourselves — and what it takes to come back.
Not through motivation or hacks, but through awareness, honesty, and intention.

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No pressure. Just presence.