20/01/2026

TUESDAY | JAN 20, 2026

9

UK, France mull social media bans for youth

Adelaide tracked more than 100,000 young Australians over three years for a study published in JAMA Pediatrics. The study found that the young people with the worst wellbeing were those who used social media heavily, more than two hours a day, or not at all. It was teens who used social networks moderately that fared the best. “The findings suggest that both excessive restriction and excessive use can be problematic,” Singh said Girls suffered the most from excessive use. Being deprived of social media was found to be most detrimental for boys in their later teens. French psychiatrist Serge Tisseron is among those who have long warned about the huge threat. “Social media is appallingly toxic,” he said. But he feared a ban would easily be overcome by tech-savvy teens, at the same time absolving parents of responsibility. “In recent years, the debate has become polarised between a ban or nothing at all,” he said, calling for regulation that walks a finer line. Another option could be to wait and see how the Australian experiment pans out. “Within a year, we should know much more about how effective the Australian ban has been and whether it led to any consequences,” Cambridge University researcher Amy Orben said. Last week, Australia’s online safety watchdog said that tech companies have already blocked 4.7 million accounts for under 16s. – AFP

One of the main areas of disagreement has been determining exactly how much effect using social media has on mental health. Michael Noetel, a researcher at the University of Queensland in Australia, told AFP that “small effects across billions of users add up”. There is “plenty of evidence” that social media does harm to teens, he said, adding that some were demanding an unrealistic level of proof. “My read is that Haidt is more right than his harshest critics admit, and less right than his book implies,” Noetel said. Given the potential benefit of a ban, he considered it “a bet worth making”. After reviewing the evidence, France’s public health watchdog ANSES ruled last week that social media had many detrimental effects for adolescents, particularly girls, while not being the sole reason for their declining mental health. Noetel led research published in Psychological Bulletin last year that reviewed more than 100 studies worldwide on the links between screens and the psychological and emotional problems suffered by children and adolescents. The findings suggested a vicious cycle. Excessive screen time was associated with problems. This distress then drove youngsters to look at their screens even more. However, other researchers are wary of a blanket ban. Ben Singh from the University of part of the track which had been completely renovated, Puente told reporters. The first train to derail was “practically new”, making the accident “extremely strange” and “very difficult to explain”, he said. Rail experts “are very surprised by this accident”, he said. Train operator Iryo said the locomotive was built in 2022 and last inspected on Thursday, adding it “veered onto the next track for still unknown reasons”. The company said around 300 people were on board its service from the Andalucian city of Malaga to the capital, Madrid. Renfe, the operator of the second train, has not said how many passengers were on the service, which was travelling to the southern city of Huelva. Spain has Europe’s largest high speed rail network, with more than 3,000km of dedicated tracks connecting major cities including Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Valencia and Malaga. Emergency services said they struggled to free the hundreds of passengers trapped in the wreckage. “The problem is that the carriages are twisted, so the metal is twisted with the people inside,” said Francisco Carmona, head of firefighters in Cordoba.

ADAMUZ: A high-speed train has derailed and been hit by another in southern Spain killing at least 39 people and injuring more than 120, authorities said yesterday. It said the country’s worst train crash in over a decade was “extremely strange”. This was the deadliest train accident since 2013, when 80 people died after a train veered off a curved section of track outside the northwestern city of Santiago de Compostela. The crash happened on Sunday evening when a train operated by rail company Iryo travelling from Malaga to Madrid derailed near Adamuz in Andalucia. It crossed onto the other track, where it crashed into an oncoming train, which also derailed. Transport Minister Oscar Puente said at least 39 people died, warning this toll was “not definitive” and could still rise. “I want to express my deepest gratitude for the tremendous work of the rescue teams throughout the night, under very difficult circumstances,” he said. Around 123 other people were injured, including five very seriously and 24 seriously, the Interior Ministry said. Unlike the 2013 accident, the derailment took place on a straight PARIS: Countries including France and Britain are considering following Australia’s lead by banning children and some teenagers from using social media, but experts are still locked in a debate. Supporters of a ban warn that action needs to be taken to tackle deteriorating mental health among young people, but others say the evidence is inconclusive and want a more nuanced approach. Australia last month became the first nation to prohibit children under-16s from using social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok and YouTube. France is debating bills for a similar ban for under-15s. The Guardian reported last week that Jonathan Haidt, an American psychologist and supporter of the Australian ban, had been asked to speak to UK government officials. Haidt argued in his 2024 book The Anxious Generation that too much time looking at screens, particularly social media, was rewiring children’s brains and “causing an epidemic of mental illness”. The book has proven controversial in academic circles. Canadian psychologist Candice Odgers wrote in a review of the book that the “scary story” Haidt was telling was “not supported by science”. o Regulations should walk a fine line: Expert

Charred remains of destroyed homes after a wildfire in Concepcion on Sunday. – AFPPIC

Chile declares emergency

PENCO: Uncontrolled wildfires tore through communities in southern Chile, leaving charred ruins in their wake and at least 19 dead, authorities said. More than 50,000 people have been displaced by blazes burning for two days in the Nuble and Biobio regions about 500km south of Santiago, fanned by strong winds and hot weather. “At 2.30 in the morning, the fire was out of control. There was a whirlwind of fire that consumed the houses in the town below,” said Matias Cid, a 25-year-old student in Penco. “We had to leave with the shirts on our back. If we had stayed another 20 minutes we would have burned to death,” he said. Video of the aftermath shows a bleak, empty cityscape of charred homes and burned-out vehicles. Most of the fatalities from the wildfires have so far been in Penco, Mayor Rodrigo Vera said.

In neighbouring Lirquen, a small port town of about 20,000, the scene was equally devastating, with residents describing how the fire advanced “in seconds”. Many of the residents “were saved from the fire because they ran to the beach”, said Alejandro Arredondo, 57. “Nothing was left standing.” In the town of Lirquen, soldiers were patrolling the streets as night fell on Sunday. Despite a curfew, some residents armed with flashlights continued working to clear debris or put out fires. President Gabriel Boric declared a state of emergency in Nuble and Biobio as nearly 4,000 firefighters battled the wildfires raging during the southern hemisphere summer. The order allows for the deployment of the armed forces. The president travelled to Concepcion to oversee the firefighting efforts. – AFP

High-speed Spanish train collision kills 39

Police and rescuers working at the derailment site near Adamuz, in Cordoba yesterday. – REUTERSPIC “We even had to remove a dead person to be able to reach someone alive. It is hard, tricky work.” told Spanish public television the train, jolted, “came to a complete stop and everything went dark”.

of the train and seeing luggage tumble onto other passengers. “The attendant behind me hit her head and was bleeding. There were children crying.” – AFP

A passenger on the second train who gave only her first name, Montse,

She described being thrown around in the carriage at the back end