The subject is topical and generates a lot of reaction since it inevitably affects all of us, in a world where the majority of our daily interactions are linked to digital technologies. In recent weeks, the subject of the “right to disconnect” has resurfaced in the media, on the eve of the summer vacation period.
Posted yesterday at 9:00 a.m.
In short, the right to disconnect is a concept developed in France in 2017 as part of a new set of labor laws. This new law requires companies with 50 or more employees to adopt a policy dealing with the use of smart phones for employees so that they benefit from a better work-family balance and can really “unhook” from job, outside working hours. However, what about young people? What are the beacons, as parents and as a society, that we put in place to prevent them from falling into the sneaky trap of misusing new technologies?
In a recent open letter, the president of the Junior Chamber of Commerce of Montreal, Habi Gerba, pointed out that several states have already adopted laws relating to the right to disconnect employees, but that Quebec is lagging behind in matter1. To date, four countries have ruled on the subject.
If it is still impossible for our society to look into the question and think about a healthy use of digital, at work and in our private life, how do you want our children to take an example from us?
You will tell me that it is perhaps paradoxical to advocate this discourse, insofar as I have been running a web and mobile development agency for more than 10 years, in Montreal. I am able to observe the processes put in place to ensure that the attention of the consumer, subscriber or player remains at its highest level throughout their experience of our platforms on tablets, mobile phones , computers, etc. Nevertheless, our signature has always been to launch digital products with social impact. We often talk as a team about digital meaning, one of our core values: we create solutions that make sense, that do good and are committed to always doing better.
I also consider that an adult who interacts with these platforms, in theory, does so knowingly and that it is their responsibility to ensure that their use is healthy. I am rather concerned, however, to see that young people have very little awareness of the dangers associated with the misuse of technology.
Become critical
Parents, educators and the government (which should also make some progress on the issue!) all have a role to play in order to promote the healthy use of digital technologies among our children and to limit the possible slippages linked to this reality. : everything is now digital! In 2020, the Ministry of Health and Social Services published a document2 which takes a first step in the right direction regarding the use of screens among young people and their impact on their health. In particular, it indicates—and I agree—that young people, as they age, must become critical of their use of new technologies. I would even say that it is our duty, as parents or adults in a position of authority, to make them aware of the subject by getting them to reflect on their behavior in relation to social networks and all the content they consume. . This should today be an undeniable part of our role for their well-being.
It is the small daily actions that allow our young people to be aware of their use of digital technology.
For example, encourage non-virtual and group games, create family time to go out and play outside, establish “screen-free” times during the week or on weekends, watch what the young person is listening to and discuss together, play games video with the young person in order to understand him and get to know him better and, finally, make him aware of the fact that the images published on social networks are sometimes totally false or biased. These regular attentions are only a few examples that we can put in place, as parents, in order to offer them a framework that can potentially allow them to avoid slippages.
Even if our decision-makers are lagging behind on the issue of the right to disconnect and on the use that our young people make of digital technology, particularly in the classroom, I am happy to see the arrival of new initiatives such as the organization Le Ciel founded by Alexandre Champagne who wants to “open a conversation on digital issues related to our mental health to make the relationship between people and social networks more positive”. This is a timely project, in a world where fake news and immediacy make the headlines daily. Far be it from me to advocate a moralizing vision of the subject, but I am a parent who — too often — feels deprived of the options he has at his disposal to educate his child to the best of his abilities.
Writer Naomi Skwarna says the problem isn’t in the technology. Rather, it lies in the vulnerability of human psychology. We have a role to play in raising awareness among our young people and it starts now. In view of the next school year, I invite our decision-makers to add this point to their list of duties.