Al-Sisi warns against excessive social networking sites... and cites his grandchildren

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Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi warned on Monday of the dangers of excessive use of social networking sites, calling for promoting balanced use of technology, especially among children and youth.

During his participation in the first edition of the Egypt Forum, Sisi said, “Balance in everything is required, moderation in everything is required, and not being extravagant in everything is required,” explaining that extravagance is not limited to food, drink, and behavior, but also includes excessive use of phones, considering that “spending 5 or 6 hours a day on the phone requires attention.”

He also added that technological development has provided advanced capabilities for analyzing the personalities of social media users, collecting data for each user individually, and forming a picture of their interests and behavior, allowing for an estimate of the size of the possible influence on public opinion, despite the user’s dealings with the platform individually.

While he pointed out that this potential may be exploited to guide individuals and influence their positions, leading to moving groups of people towards behaviors that may harm their countries, by forming certain perceptions they have and then directing them at specific times.

In addition, Sisi pointed out that he notices that his grandchildren are preoccupied with mobile phones, saying that when he sits with them he finds them holding their phones, stressing the importance of balanced use of technology, whether among children or adults.

The Egyptian President also stressed that he does not oppose scientific and technological progress, but he emphasized the necessity of consciously dealing with these developments, monitoring the use of technology by sons and daughters, and paying attention to adults’ patterns of use.

It is noteworthy that the Egyptian government is considering legalizing the use of mobile phones by children after a presidential directive to do so. The Egyptian House of Representatives held a community dialogue to receive various visions and proposals from all state institutions, to reach an accurate legislative formulation that protects young people from any dangers that threaten their thoughts and behavior.

Global interest has recently increased in the impact of social networking sites on the mental health of children and adolescents, and the challenges they pose related to the duration of use, exposure to inappropriate content, the collection of personal data, and the influence of algorithms in shaping users’ interests and behavior.

These concerns have sparked escalating discussions about the responsibility of technology companies to protect young users, and the role of families in regulating the use of digital devices, in addition to calls for strengthening controls that reduce the risks associated with excessive use of digital platforms.