According to a new report, a bill has been introduced in a State in the US which seeks to ban the use of cell phones for anyone under the age of 21.
On Tuesday (7th January 2020), the State of Vermont introduced a bill by Democratic Senator, John Rodgers, which sought to prohibit cell phone usage by age. The Government official stated that people under the age of 21 “are not developmentally mature enough” to use mobile phones safely.
To supplement this bill, major harmful incidents like car crashes and cyber bullying among teens were brought up as the need for the proposed act; since cell phone is reportedly one of the leading reasons for teenage deaths in the US, while smartphones are most likely to be used by teenagers to engage in bullying and threatening activities and by its extension even suicides.
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According to the bill, a person found to be in possession or using a cell phone will be fined by $1,000 and be punished with jail time up to a year if they are under 21 years of age. The bill also mentions maturity as a factor as people under 21 can not legally smoke cigarettes, consume alcohol or possess guns and wish to include smartphones within the same category.
Currently, no US state has passed a bill on the minimum age for cell phone ownership but has strict laws in place for smoking, drinking and firearms. Notably, John Rodgers admitted that he expects the bill not to pass but brought it up regardless to bring attention towards firearms in the country.
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(Via)
