The mayor of a town in Japan is backing a proposal to limit smartphone use by its residents young and old to just two hours a day.
Officials in Toyoake, about 150 miles west of Tokyo and with a population of around 68,000, hope it will help to tackle the problem of phone addiction, though the two-hour limit wouldn’t include use for work, education, or during exercise.
While the mere thought of such a restriction may cause you to break into a cold sweat, the ordinance, if passed by local lawmakers in October, is intended more as a recommendation and won’t be strictly enforced. Indeed, there won’t even be any penalties for those who exceed the limit, which will probably be just about everyone.
As countless studies have shown over the years, spending long periods of time staring at smartphones can adversely affect mental health, impact relationships, and even be bad for physical health through inactivity or sleep disruption.
“I hope this serves as an opportunity for each family to think about and discuss the time spent on smartphones as well as the time of day the devices are used,” Mayor Masafumi Koki said in comments reported by BBC News, adding that the two-hour limit is “merely a guideline” that’s designed to encourage residents.
Besides the limit, the bill also includes a 9 p.m. cut-off time for children of elementary school age and younger, and 10 p.m. for junior high school students and older, the Mainichi Shimbun reported.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the plan is mostly opposed by the few locals who felt compelled to respond during a recent consultation period. The city office said it received around 125 calls and emails on the issue, with 80% expressing displeasure.
“Does the city have the right to strip residents of their freedom?” said one, while another commented: “Is it necessary to make this an ordinance?”
Among those supporting the plan, one said: “I’ve always felt the problem of smartphone addiction. I hope the ordinance proceeds.”
Mayor Koki claimed that “smartphone use is a common issue even among adults who are sacrificing sleep and family communication (to use the devices). We chose the form of an ordinance as a special message for residents to take this issue seriously.”
Such a proposal is a first for Japan and echoes action taken in a town in Ireland a couple of years ago when parents got together to try to reduce smartphone use among children. In a far stricter move, Australia is targeting social media use, last year passing the world’s first law banning children under the age of 16 from holding accounts on major social media platforms. The law will come into force in December, giving platforms one year to implement compliance measures or face fines of up to $50 million Australian dollars (about $33 million).
