Precautionary policy enacted in the absence of established causal evidence systematically produces policy whack-a-mole: each new candidate harm (phones, video games, fluoride, vaccines, sugar) generates its own precautionary regime, the regimes accumulate, and the public-health institutions that issued them lose credibility when the underlying causal claims fail to consolidate. The means proposed in the synthesis are therefore not effective at the goal the synthesis claims to serve.
UNICEF Innocenti — Report Card 17: Places and Spaces (2022)
Children's well-being depends on multiple, interacting environmental factors; no single policy lever is sufficient.
Are the stated bad consequences likely to occur?
Can the bad effects be mitigated so they are acceptable?
Are there benefits that outweigh the bad effects?
Showcase: Smartphones, social media, and adolescent mental health