A city in Japan is considering new guidelines to reduce smartphone use.
The government of Toyoake, located in central Japan, is discussing a non-binding ordinance that would encourage residents to limit their smartphone use to two hours per day, per the BBC.
The rule would not be legally enforced, but it is meant to motivate people to spend less time on phones and tablets.
“The two-hour limit … is merely a guideline … to encourage citizens. This does not mean the city will limit its residents’ rights or impose duties,” Toyoake’s mayor, Masafumi Koki, said in a statement, per the BBC.
He added, “I hope this serves as an opportunity for each family to think about and discuss the time spent on smartphones as well as the time of day the devices are used.”
While the mayor acknowledged that smartphones are “useful and indispensable in daily life,” he also noted that they can create problems for students in school and disrupt healthy sleep patterns in both children and adults, per the BBC.
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If approved, the ordinance would begin in October.
The draft currently suggests that children ages 6 to 12 should avoid using phones or tablets after 9 p.m., while teenagers and adults should stop by 10 p.m., per The Guardian.
Not everyone supports the proposal. The Toyoake government received 83 calls and 44 emails about the ordinance between Aug. 21 and Aug. 25. Roughly 80% of the responses were negative, according to The Mainichi.
PEOPLE reached out to the Toyoake municipal government for comment on Friday, Aug. 29, but has not yet received a response.
The discussion comes as concerns grow about the effects of smartphone use, especially on children. A study published in July in the Journal of the Human Development and Capabilities found that children under 13 who regularly use smartphones may face risks to their mental health.
In 2023, then-U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued a major advisory warning that social media could “have a profound risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents.”
