The more days they missed school due to strikes in recent months, the more young people increased the time spent on their phones, tablets or in front of their computers. So much so that it is now the main source of concern for Quebec parents, shows a survey unveiled Tuesday.
Carried out jointly by the Federation of Parents’ Committees (FCPQ) and the University of Sherbrooke, the survey surveyed more than 14,000 parents to find out how Quebec students are doing.
One thing is certain: they spend a lot of time in front of their screens.
“We have a lot of heavy users, young people who spend at least four hours in front of a screen, during the week or on weekends, in their free time. It’s one in five young people in secondary school,” says the DD Mélissa Généreux, medical consultant at the Estrie Regional Public Health Department and professor at the University of Sherbrooke.
The increase in screen time is felt among all young people, but it is more marked among those whose schools have been closed for longer.
“It starts from a 17% increase in screen time among those who did not experience the strike, to 28% for the Common Front, to 59% for the FAE,” explains the DD Generous.
Students whose teachers are affiliated with the Autonomous Education Federation (FAE) experienced 22 days of strike, compared to eight for those whose teachers were represented by the Common Front.
Just like the DD Generous, the president of the Federation of Parents’ Committees is surprised that this is the concern most often cited by parents of primary and secondary students.
What surprised me was that this outweighed the learning losses that some had during prolonged strikes, motivation and even psychological well-being.
Mélanie Laviolette, president of the Federation of Parents’ Committees
She believes that parents “don’t really know how to manage this with their young people”.
“Sometimes we will choose our battles. We are going to give more leeway on screen time so as not to have to manage the crisis in our children. We create the problem. But I believe that the strike still exacerbated it. I’m thinking of the older ones who were able to look after themselves: we’re not there to watch them, we were in the office,” says Mme The violet.
The DD Généreux says she’s starting to find screen time taking its toll.
“An educational catch-up plan is interesting, but if we really want to take into account the concerns of parents, is there a plan for the screen crisis? Beyond certain one-off measures, what societal plan do we have to really help our young people in relation to screens? », asks the professor from the University of Sherbrooke.