By Bryan Laprise
Local Journalism Initiative
The Commission spéciale sur les impacts des écrans et des réseaux sociaux sur la santé et le développement des jeunes (CSESJ) published its official report on May 29, including 56 recommendations relating to the use of screens including social media and video games, and in an educational context, among youth.
The commission was created by the National Assembly last year and has been inquiring into the topic in order to create recommendations for government legislation. At the end of April, an abridged version of the report was released which included the recommendation to ban the use of personal mobile devices (cell phones) in elementary and high schools. The government moved quickly on the recommendation, announcing a cell phone ban in schools to take effect for the coming school year.
The CSESJ held two public inquiries, surveyed 7000 respondents in three months and visited 17 schools spread across 13 cities in six regions. MNAs involved came from four parties: seven from the CAQ, three from the Liberal Party and one from both Québec Solidaire and the Parti québécois.
“In the face of these numerous challenges, we quickly realized that it was imperative to propose concrete and realistic solutions to favor the well-being of the youth to let them flourish and develop a healthy relationship with the digital world,” Amélie Dionne, president of the CSESJ, said during a press conference on May 29.
Screens at school
On May 1, the Minister of Education announced that starting during the next school year, students would be prohibited from using their cell phones on the school grounds during the school day, including during breaks and during lunch.
In the survey conducted by the CSESJ, school personnel were asked questions. Some 67 per cent responded that they totally agree that banning cell phones is a good way to increase student attention, backed by almost a quarter saying they somewhat agree. Nearly two-thirds ‘somewhat agreed’ that teachers should limit the use of screens, even when used for pedagogical purposes.
At school, the commission recommends the use of digital devices to be more strictly regulated and used purely for pedagogical purposes and should not be used as a reward for positive student behaviour.
The CSESJ believes that rules governing digital citizenship—how students should use digital media and conduct themselves online—should be included in schools’ codes of conduct, citing that it would be a good way to make students and parents aware of good habits to adopt.
The study also found that school personnel believe they are inadequately trained in how to efficiently use technology for pedagogical purposes. Some 60 per cent answered that they were at least somewhat insufficiently trained in this regard.
The Eastern Townships School Board (ETSB) has not adopted a specific policy on cell phones since the adoption of the ban, citing a lack of government guidance. According to ETSB Chairman Mike Murray, the ministry has not provided specific guidelines and none are expected.
School boards and schools are therefore left on their own to figure out how to effectively ban cell phones in their establishments. “We have held off trying to make rules in the absence of guidance, because we run out of options,” he said.
Since the beginning of the 21st century, the ETSB has welcomed technology into its schools. It now provides a laptop to students to do work on, which can serve some of the same functionalities as cell phones.
“We think that, in general, wall-to-wall bans are bad. The idea of a ban ignores a whole lot of realities,” said Murray during an interview.
He pointed out that the ETSB covers a large area and a “widely dispersed population.” Cell phones can be used for better communication with parents, especially in cases where they need to know when to pick up their children.
The chairman also expressed concerns about who is supposed to reinforce the ban: “The whole downloading of responsibility, onto who in the school? Teacher? School secretary? Classroom aid? Everybody in the school?”
By banning cell phones, Murray thinks that it will simply move things to a new technology, such as using the school-issued laptops, or passing notes instead of texting. There will still be distractions, but just in a different way.
The ETSB is not looking at reducing its reliance on screens and technology, according to the chairman. “Whatever they are doing to overuse screen time is far more an issue of parenting and guiding and so forth,” he said, adding that parents are the ones that provide cell phones to their kids. “It’s the parents who decide whether there are restrictions to screen time.”
Data and advertising
The members involved in the commission are also concerned with the protection of young users’ data on online platforms, and the minimum age required to have accounts on social media and the hidden commercial advertisements that reach teenagers and kids through influencers.
CSESJ member Alexandre Leduc of Québec solidaire spoke about the need to make a “nuanced” analysis of the consequences related to the use of social media, good and bad. He highlighted it makes communication among youth more convenient, provides opportunities for creativity and self-expression.
However, it is recommended for the minimum age required to hold a social media account to be 14-years-old, in line with some of the province’s other laws granting those of this age the right to more responsibility, including medically. Many platforms already require similar age requirements, which are often not followed.
The commission also recommends making it illegal to sell the personal data collected of online users below 14-years-old and to target advertisements towards them. They would also like to see micro-transactions within video games (such as items that can be purchased in the gaming world) banned for minors.
There needs to be more transparency about what an advertisement is to help youth easier distinguish between what is or what is not trying to tell them things, including by influencers. The CSESJ recommends the government more strictly regulate the work of online influencers in this respect.
Alternative activities
Among the recommendations were many regarding the implementation and promotion of screen-free activities at low costs for families.
The report’s first recommendation is to optimize the accessibility of existing infrastructure such as parks and school sports facilities, in the goal of encouraging youth to participate in physical, social and cultural activities.
Raising awareness
A part of the report rests on the importance of raising awareness of the negative effects of screens on youth, among the younger generation themselves, but also among parents and teachers.
“Raising awareness in the population among youth and parents is an important first step in being more aware as to the risks of the digital world and to encourage a change towards healthy lifestyle habits,” Dionne stated.
During the press conference, the commission also noted that while most kids spend too much time on their devices, parents are also frequently on them. Members said that during their visit to schools, students often pointed out being asked to spend less time on screens even if their parents spend as much time on them as they do.
In the report, they cite an elementary school student saying: “My mom asks me to put away my tablet while she’s on her phone. She repeats it without even noticing that I wasn’t on my tablet anymore.”
They therefore claim that an awareness campaign is important to improving public health.
Health services
The CSESJ points out that addiction to screens presents many of the same symptoms as other addictions, such as to drugs.
To combat this, they make many recommendations relating to the healthcare system, such as implementing psychological services for youth presenting signs of addiction.
Their report also recommends providing training personnel, including those working in the healthcare and education systems about the use of screens and the risks associated with it.
Explicit content
Since the dawn of the internet, sexually explicit content has been made more accessible.
Data shows that nearly one-third of youth in Canada have encountered this type of content, most between the ages 9 and 13.
The report recommends Quebec work with the federal government and others to impose restrictions on platforms that distribute sexually explicit content and to put in place “reliable, unavoidable age verification mechanisms that are respectful of private life.”
Sending a message
While it may be difficult, or people may break the rules to set up an account if even they don’t meet the age requirement, the recommendations made by the commission send a message to the population of Quebec.
“It sends a signal of public health that this is what the norm should be,” Leduc said during the press conference. Comparing it to people drinking alcohol before turning 18 or driving above 100 km/h on the highway, he thinks that these recommendations, which may become law, show how people are expected to behave, even if they don’t always follow the rules.