Barcelona Digital City

Barcelona City Council is driving a new Government Measure to promote healthy screen use by children and teenagers. The measure, which has been agreed with all the stakeholders involved, is based on the need to address the challenges posed by the use of digital devices and as a firm commitment to the health, welfare and overall development of the city’s children and teenagers, while also taking into account adults’ responsibility and their role as models in relation to this.

The main aim of the measure is to improve and ensure the welfare of children and young people in their relationship with digital technologies, with the ultimate aim of reducing their negative impacts and promoting this group’s welfare. In order to achieve this, the measure sets out a plan comprising 51 actions to be carried out over the next four years. These revolve around three priority areas: the prevention of premature access, the prevention of overuse and addiction, and the prevention of access to inappropriate content and cyberbullying. It also includes a set of prevention measures and places special emphasis on skills acquisition for children, teenagers, their families and professionals, encouraging them to engage in activities not involving the use of digital devices and providing support and care in cases of problems from the use of these technologies. These actions are expected to require an annual budget of €1.5 million for the next four years.

According to the text of the measure, the last few years have seen a very significant increase in the amount of time spent online by children, teenagers and young people. According to data from 2021, 47% of 10- to 11-year-olds in the city have their own mobile phone with an internet connection; and 42% of these have no restrictions on the time they are allowed to use it. Furthermore, 75% of them reported having difficulty putting a stop to this use. In the 13-19 year-old bracket, and also according to data from 2021, girls spent four hours a day, and boys 3.3 hours a day, using screens outside school hours on weekdays. These figures went up to 5.4 and 4.5 hours respectively at the weekend. Moreover, three out of every four teenagers reported having no limit on the amount of time they were allowed to use their mobile phone, seven out of ten reported always or almost always having dinner in front of a screen, and 76% of boys and 85.7% of girls always used their mobile phone at bedtime. Girls’ internet use was more concerning (45.1%, compared to 33.4% of boys), while the issue in the case of boys was more likely to relate to gambling (5.9%, compared to 1.1% of girls). In addition, one in four girls reported having been a victim of online abuse.

These figures, together with the warning on the possible harmful effects of the inappropriate use of technology, such as cognitive alterations, health problems affecting eating habits or mental health and emotional distress, or the risk of developing a mobile device addiction, have been decisive factors in the decision to promote the participatory process that has led to this Government Measure.

The Barcelona Mental Health Board, which was created by the Digital Welfare promotion group formed by members of the Board itself and experts involved in addressing the consequences of the inappropriate use of digital devices by children and young people, has played a key role in this process, and the involvement of families has been very important too. A total of 57 people from both the municipal government and other bodies and administrations took part in the working sessions held to design the action plan. Furthermore, February’s full City Council meeting declared social media a public health problem.

This is the reason for the measure’s particular focus on early childhood and the inclusion of premature access prevention actions. The collaborative work carried out to design and implement actions, as well as the work undertaken to fight inequalities and ensure that the measure reaches every city neighbourhood, particularly those people who are more exposed to social vulnerabilities, is particularly worth highlighting.

The action plan in the digital welfare measure is split into three lines of action. The first of these seeks to promote a critical and healthy use of digital technologies by children and teenagers and boost resources, actions and educational programmes for families and teachers. The creation of a new programme to train leading figures in the field of digital education in the community and educational spaces, who will act as digital mediators for children, young people, their families and professionals, is particularly worth noting in this regard. Other actions that stand out in this line of intervention include prevention or digital safety workshops. An example of these is the “Safe screens” project, which is provided by the Barcelona Guàrdia Urbana (GUB, or city police) to children in the last stage of primary education and the first stage of compulsory secondary education (ESO) to prevent the risks posed by social media. It also includes, among other things, actions to reinforce the training courses available on the use of screens for teachers.  Likewise, the Barcelona Public Health Agency (ASPB) is reviewing a variety of health promotion programmes to include actions and measures aimed at increasing the digital welfare of children, teenagers and young people.

The second line of action seeks to encourage these groups to engage in alternative leisure activities that promote interaction with their peers and encourage them to do physical exercise and get to know their surroundings. One of its main aims is to reinforce healthy leisure programmes, particularly in areas with high vulnerability rates. An example of this is the promotion of the “Educational afternoons” programme of extracurricular activities, the “Born to read” reading sessions and various actions under the Barcelona Health programme in the neighbourhoods covered by the ASPB, which provide alternative healthy leisure options for young people and teenagers.

As for the last line of action, the measure seeks to classify problematic screen use as a public health challenge and address it through the various types of services available, networking spaces and regulatory authorities. The related actions thus include a citizen awareness campaign, the inclusion of actions to prevent and detect screen-use problems in paediatric examinations, promoting mobile-free spaces or times in public facilities, and maintaining and promoting the Drug Guidance Service as an advice, care and guidance service for teenagers and young people up to the age of 21 who use technologies excessively or in an inappropriate way and their families. In addition, with the aim of addressing one specific problematic use of screens, access to online gambling, the ASPB has designed the “Cara i creu” programme which, in addition to a line of work for teenagers in the fourth year of compulsory secondary education, includes a guide for families and training for people who work in youth facilities.