Kelemen Hunor commented, on Monday, on Digi24’s Jurnalul de Sără, the recent events in schools in Romania, when a student attacked a mathematics teacher in Bistrita, after leaving a series of messages on social networks implying that he was going to commit a violent act, and another student from Pitesti hit two colleagues with a machete. The UDMR leader talks about “this nefarious influence coming from the area of TikTok, Facebook and what else is emerging”, but believes that a ban on online social networks does not solve “much”. “It would be a mistake to throw all the responsibility on the schools. It’s also a responsibility in the family,” says the politician who also spoke about his relationship with his daughter.
Asked how serious the recent school attacks are, Kelemen Hunor admitted that the authorities have failed to do anything about the influence of social networks on children. The president of the UDMR believes that they have a very important role in violent attacks, but a simple ban is not a viable solution.
“(Attacks in schools, no) They are serious and it is an extremely sad situation. We have not been able to do anything with this harmful influence that comes from the area of TikTok, Facebook and what else appears, that we can’t, or at least I can’t follow exactly which platforms are still working and here, at a given moment, not only us, but all the states in the European Union should think about where the limit is, how far we can go. Because the moment you see videos on TikTok properly killed a dog by teenagers and they spread such a film and no one intervenes and no one sanctions, it’s a huge problem. When a teenager prepares for weeks, months to attack teachers and students, it means that he is under the influence of social networks, you don’t solve much by banning them,” said Kelemen Hunor to Digi24.
The president of the UDMR believes that, although access to online social networks can technically be restricted, education cannot be excluded from the solution to this problem, and the role of the family is very important.
“Sure, technically, I suspect it is possible (access denied, no), but this is about education. And now we have two ministers of education, and I trust these ministers until proven otherwise, but something must be done much faster, much more radical and consistent in the long term. I can tell you this much at this moment, because here all state institutions must be involved. The minister of education cannot do it alone. Of course, education starts in the family and there, what they want: to give in the child’s hand a phone and to allow him to use a phone without limits. This is what I struggle with, with my children, and it is difficult to impose a limit, especially since there are already children in the class who have unlimited access to the Internet”, explained the UDMR leader.
Kelemen Hunor revealed that it would be a mistake to blame the schools and revealed that he too has to explain to his daughter why he does not allow her unlimited access to the internet.
“If my daughter is with her friends and she doesn’t have access, then she comes and says: “Daddy, why can’t I”, and I have to be able to explain and say why you don’t have the opportunity and why you have to be patient, why you have to listen to your parents and so on. So education doesn’t just go to school. So it would be a mistake to throw all the responsibility on the schools. It’s also a responsibility in the family. So it’s an extremely important matter complicated and, after all, it is the future of Romania, that we are already on the way out of the active zone. They will come in a few years and decide for their future”, concluded Kelemen Hunor.
