4h06: This is the average amount of time that 0–18-year-olds spend daily on screens worldwide. By the end of the week, an average 12-year-old will have spent 53h54 on their screen[1], compared to an average of 34h51[2] at school in the USA.

Screens are here; young people live, grow, learn, and evolve with screens. Today, a large part of childhood takes place online. Education has been completely transformed and disoriented by this shift; one question concerns many parents: “What is good for my child when it comes to screens?”

On one hand, the internet enables cyberbullying, large-scale child sexual abuse, and exposure to traumatic content. On the other hand, screens have allowed countless advances for children, such as access to knowledge, openness to the world, and communication.

The Child First Project is the first think tank dedicated to children’s well-being in the digital age. Our goal:

- Research to understand how to ensure children’s well-being in this ever-evolving digital world.

- Inform political institutions and parents about the results of our research.

- Build the screen of tomorrow, one that acts as a lever for children’s well-being.

As we write these lines, at the end of 2025, no think tank has seriously looked into the matter. Many studies exist, of course, but screens are always treated as a secondary subject. Education, health, or social issues cannot avoid the question of screens, but these reflections are never carried out starting from the study of the child–screen relationship.

Meanwhile, nearly 29 million euros are spent on lobbying by tech companies. Their goal is to maintain the most permissive legislation possible, often at the expense of users.

Screen Project is therefore a pioneer in exploring the child who grows up with screens. We hope that studying this parallel life in depth and with precision will allow us not only to observe the pitfalls of screen use but also to find a path toward usage that maximizes children’s well-being while leveraging the tremendous opportunities offered by screens.

Screens are vectors of many breakthrough technologies, the most obvious being instant communication and access to online knowledge; they have brought us a great deal.

It is easy to forget old ways of doing things, as the reflex to take out one's phone is so ingrained. Yet our grandparents unfolded large paper maps and spent long minutes studying the routes they had to take by car. Meetings of all kinds involved sending invitation cards. Screens make our lives easier at every moment.

And yet, how many children suffer today from harmful screen use?

Child sexual abuse networks as well as drug trafficking proliferate in this virtual world, and everything indicates that the new means provided by the near-universal use of screens are responsible.

Thus, screens make life easier for both the good and the bad.

We may be witnessing the greatest waste humanity has ever known. Screens have the potential to improve access to education, reduce isolation, and inspire through sharing.

They are today (the largest vector of child sexual abuse, unrestrained access to drugs...) one of the leading causes of isolation and poor mental health among today’s youth.

So what should be done?

Trying to eliminate screens is a guaranteed defeat. On one hand, the industry built on the production and distribution of screens is the most profitable in the world and will not give up; on the other hand, screens must be used to advance humanity regarding children’s well-being. It is possible to use screens in a way that truly enhances well-being.

No, this is not about going backward.

We propose to envision the digital future of our children by basing all our reflections and proposals on two founding principles:

1. Children’s needs: “What makes a child happy?”

2. The capabilities offered by screens: “What opportunities do screens offer me?”

By building on these foundations, we establish a solid base that ensures we construct a structure that will remain upright.

We are part of the first generation to have grown up surrounded by screens, and we want to carry the voice of the generations that follow. We aim to deeply analyze the relationship between children and screens.

The dream of a screenless past is not constructive; believing it would solve these problems is an illusion. Our project is a creative endeavor: imagining the screen of tomorrow. To achieve this, we deploy a global, integrated, and multisectoral reflection with children’s well-being as the founding principle.

Our work offers a meticulous study of all the relationships children have with their screens. We then analyze the consequences of these relationships at various levels: education, health, parent–child relationships, …

We work with experts from all sectors concerned with children’s screen use to propose ideas, draft laws, and guidelines for decision-makers and societal actors.