Shane Moynihan (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am a dad of three boys, aged six, four and one. Nothing terrifies me more than the virtual world they will go into. I am a few years ahead of Deputy Dolan but I also remember my phone not having the capability that phones have now. More important, when we in this House were growing up, we grew and acquired a phone. Our children today are growing up with phones as if they were part of their body. We have moved to a situation where I am worried technology is no longer the servant but is turning into the master. We are creating two realities in parallel. Our children see a virtual reality and a real reality.

Deputy Daly referred to the images of virtual perfection that are cosseted and encouraged. That is not necessarily because of the algorithm, but because of the environment in which these children are growing up. Phones are now considered to be as crucial to their life as the wheel was to many generations and civilisations. It is an integral part of who they are. The challenge as regards how we regulate and deal with this is understanding that key distinction. It is not about trying to go after the technology or go after the virtual reality. It is understanding that we have now created this environment where there are those two realities and we need to regulate that in the same way.

Without a doubt, one of the things we now focus on is minimising the amount of screen time that our younger people have. It is also about educating them about how they use that screen time so they understand the dopamine hit they get from an interaction on a social media app is just that, an empty dopamine hit with no basis in reality or no root whatsoever in real life. It is about educating them about the sheer power of the tool they hold in their hand, without necessarily discovering that power can be used for adverse means later in their life. Ultimately, we cannot see inside a young person's or child's head, so we have no idea of the effects that interaction with technology is having on them, unlike the other interactions we see with technologies around them.

I honestly believe that while it is right and proper that we in this House take a proactive approach to addressing this, we need to be a champion for it at EU level as well. We need to make sure this does not get caught up in the discussion about innovation and regulation. This is about safety, pure and simple. With any new technology, safety should be core to its regulation, without discouraging innovation. I encourage a redoubling of our efforts at European level to engage in that, for all the new fathers and fathers-to-be of a generation that is growing up and does not know any different.

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