DODIK: CHILDREN MUST BE BROUGHT BACK TO TRADITION, FAMILY AND FAITH

BANJA LUKA, DECEMBER 12 /SRNA/ - SNSD President Milorad Dodik said that he initiated the discussion on limiting the use of social media for those under the age of 16 with the aim of bringing children back to tradition, family and faith, warning that otherwise society would be made up of alienated individuals and amorphous masses.

Speaking to reporters in Banja Luka, Dodik said that this was both his appeal and his obligation to initiate dialogue.

"Only if we succeed in this can we count on preserving society. Otherwise, it will become an amorphous mass or an individual living in illusion, and the consequence will be a failed society," Dodik assessed.

He noted that society today stands at a crossroads between the analog and digital generations, with younger age groups using social media to view unacceptable content.

"It is a well-known scientific fact that a child's personality is formed by the age of five, and today at that age the dominant influence is no longer the parent but the phone," Dodik pointed out.

He said he was not sure how it would be possible to ban the use of social media for those under 16, but stressed that efforts must be made in that direction.

"We are facing a new situation with the younger generation, which is evident both in individual and group cases of violence, and many experts in child psychology say these are the result of excessive use of social media," Dodik said.