French middle-schoolers Darine Khalil, Leon Desfetes and Louis Szponik, took to social media at age 13. They use apps like Snapchat. Tiktok and Instagram, to communicate amongst friends, post photos, and watch videos.

“It frees the mind a bit but it still allows us to be stimulated,” 14-year-old Leon Desfetes said.

The French senate is set to vote on Tuesday (March 30) on a landmark bill seeking to ban social media in France to under 15 year-olds.

The text already cleared the hurdle at the National Assembly last January 26. If it passes in the Senate, it will be subject to a vote in the lower house before being promulgated as law.

One of the bill’s authors, Laure Miller, said several studies showed that young people have access to smartphones at increasingly younger ages, and spending up to five to six hours a day on social media.

“This has a significant impact on their development, both personally and cognitively, as well as on their understanding of the world and their perspective on it," Miller told Reuters.

For a parent like Leon’s mother, Caroline Desfetes, a ban could have helped limit her two teenagers’ usage of social media. Leon, 14 and Zoe, 16 would not be subject to a ban if the law passes. But Desfetes is certain about its overall advantages.

It’s a constant battle at home, with Leon and Zoe asking for more screen time, she said.

“Do I cut them off from everything or not? My only regret is that I gave them phones too quickly.”

She said she has observed waning concentration in her teens, and even less conversation amongst them and their friends, as they are often on their smartphones.

"It (social media ban) would give children the chance to get bored. And boredom is incredibly important for the imagination, for thinking, for simply taking time. These days, every spare moment is spent scrolling,” Desfetes said.

The bill proposes banning under-15s from social networks and "social networking functionalities" embedded within broader platforms, and reflects rising public anxiety over the impact of social media on minors, and growing concerns about online bullying and mental health risks.

President Emmanuel Macron has pointed to social media as one factor to blame for violence among young people. He is urging France to follow Australia, whose world-first ban for under-16s on social media platforms including Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube came into force in December.

Macron wants the ban in place in time for the start of the next academic year, in September.

Australia's social media ban is being studied in countries including Britain, Denmark, Spain and Greece.

The European Parliament has called for the European Union to set minimum ages for children to access social media, although it is up to member states to impose age limits.

Louis Szponik, 15, does not agree with a social media ban. Though he says apps like Tiktok are not always educational and lead to procrastination, he feels strongly about the power of social media to cultivate cohesion and expression.

“Social media isn't essential, but it still preserves a small part of us, memories, photos, etc. And that's what I think it would be a shame to lose with a law," he said.

Production: Manuel Ausloos, Lucien Libert, Michaela Cabrera/Reuters