Emine Erdoğan, the wife of Türkiye’s President, said that protecting children from risks arising from digital systems is not solely the responsibility of parents and that this obligation belongs to all segments of society.
Erdoğan spoke at an event on children and digital systems held in New York as part of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly. The event was organized in cooperation with the Ministry of Family and Social Services, the United Nations Children’s Fund and the Office of the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children.
Children are becoming the target audience of digital systems
Erdoğan said children are being left alone to face behavioral experts, designers and neuroscientists seeking to keep them in front of screens, adding that this situation is turning children into the target audience of digital systems.
Erdoğan said research consistently reveals the harms of exposure to screens. These harms include the age at which children begin using psychiatric medication falling as low as 5, the emergence of addictive behaviors and screen use producing biological effects on children’s brains.
Call for global standards and platform accountability
Emphasizing that digital platforms should not be viewed entirely as threats and that technology should not be opposed, Erdoğan said systems that prioritize profit and engagement over children’s welfare must be challenged.
Erdoğan said these efforts cannot be limited to digital literacy or parental supervision and that reducing screen time should not be reduced to a matter of individual willpower.
Erdoğan called for common global standards to be established instead of different national practices, along with regular monitoring and reporting mechanisms. She also called for stronger accountability for technology companies and digital platforms and for them to participate equally in the responsibility of protecting children.
Belgian Queen Mathilde, as well as UNICEF and United Nations representatives and the spouses of some leaders, also spoke at the event.
