Overview

• Philosopher Peter Sloterdijk said smartphones must fall under drug prohibitions to curb addiction and protect developing brains.
• He accused parents of acting like drug dealers by handing smartphones to children and warned that early intervention is essential due to challenging withdrawal.
• Saarland, Bremen and Hesse are poised to enforce comprehensive bans on personal devices in classrooms under new state regulations.
• The Federal Ministry of Education has established an expert panel to propose uniform school phone rules and social media age-verification measures.
• The debate highlights tensions between digital literacy advocates and proponents of a protective, drug-style approach to safeguard students’ mental health.