‘Would rather have kids smoke than stay on social media’: Danish PM’s remark goes viral, sparking debate | #childpredator | #kidsaftey | #childsaftey

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has sparked a debate after comparing children’s use of social media to smoking. While speaking about online safety and the risks associated with social media for young people, Frederiksen said that she would rather have her kids smoking than using social media. While the Danish leader made the remark earlier this month at a conference on artificial intelligence and child safety, they have surfaced now on social media, going viral.

“If I had small kids today, I would rather have them smoking than allowing them to stay on their own on social media. But I am acting prime minister, so I will not say that,” Frederiksen said.

She added, “There’s something wrong with us… We still look into old threats, but there’s a new one, and it’s much more present.”

This comes as Denmark moves to ban social media use for children under 15, while teens aged 13 and 14 would be allowed to access it only with parental permission. The rules could take effect as early as next year.

Speaking in the Danish Parliament last year on October 7, Frederiksen said “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: we’ve been too naive. We’ve left children’s digital lives to platforms that never had their wellbeing in mind. We must move from digital captivity to community.”

Frederiksen’s viral remarks sparked controversy as many criticised her for comparing social media to smoke, something which can be gravely harmful for health. Some people also backed her remarks, supporting the social media ban for teens across Europe.

“That is absolutely absurd. Social media is a mix of good and bad. You can make it 100% good if you want to (profile curation). The bad parts can be a learning experience in standing up for yourself…,” a user said. “Smoking, on the other hand, is a destructive addiction. Much, much worse.”

Another suggested, “Maybe the example wasn’t good but she isn’t wrong. Social media is really terrible for kids.” A person said, “I get the negative effects of social media but the comparison with smoking isn’t a good one.”

“Information is only a threat if you are threatened by the freedom to know, the issue has never been social media it was fine before engagement algorithms backed a base part of the business model. Eliminate the algorithms, you solve the problem. You don’t need to ban social media for teens and younger children who on the whole benefit more from increased connectedness. Especially the isolated ones,” one user wrote. “You could also actually use existing laws for bullying, harassment and child predators without imposing massive new surveillance methods.”

“The timing of this together with the EU trying to further censor social media is disturbing,” another user commented.

“It’s taken out of context. She was just trying to express how bad screen time is,” a person said, defending her.

According to a Sweden Herald report, Frederiksen apologised after her remarks triggered a backlash.

“Clearly children and young people should not smoke. Just as children should not be alone on platforms, where they risk seeing harmful images, being offered drugs, being groomed or blackmailed over intimate images. Yesterday I wanted to provoke us adults to understand how vulnerable our children are on screens,” she wrote in a Facebook post.