Screens and young people | The special commission begins its work

(Quebec) This Thursday, the work of the Special Commission on the impacts of screens and social networks on the health and development of young people (CSESJ) began.

The members of this committee will hear around forty experts between now and 26 September. They come from the fields of education, health and social services, public security, law and digital technology.

Among the topics to be examined: the time that young people spend on screens, supervision measures at school and on the web, access to social networks, including through video games, and cyberbullying.

The sharing of sexually explicit material, access to pornography on the web, mechanisms aimed at creating addiction and advertising aimed at children on platforms and applications will also be discussed.

It was Prime Minister François Legault who proposed, last May, to hold this commission, pushed in particular by young CAQ members who wanted to set the minimum age at 16 to access social networks and limit screen time at school.

A growing body of research shows that young people’s screen time can have negative health consequences. According to U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, social media is “driving a national crisis in youth mental health.”

“The consensus is that there is an urgent need to do something,” declared MP Alexandre Leduc of Québec solidaire at a press briefing. “The political class is united on this reading, to do something. But what exactly? That’s what we will have to find.”

“All parties combined, we all agree that we have a societal problem and that we need to have a collective awareness,” added CAQ member Amélie Dionne, who chairs the commission.

No wall-to-wall, says parents’ federation

The first group to be heard on Thursday, the Fédération des comités de parents du Québec (FCPQ) warned MPs against adopting a so-called “wall-to-wall” approach to the issue of managing screens in schools.

Decisions that influence the lives of students must respect the needs and specificities of the environments, as well as the powers of the school boards, declared the president of the FCPQ, Mélanie Laviolette.

Cell phones are already banned in class, but they can still be used at lunchtime and during breaks.

Education Minister Bernard Drainville announced last May that he was considering completely banning cell phones in schools.

The FCPQ opposes such a ban, arguing in particular that parents must be able to reach their children in the event of an emergency. “We are not in the United States, but there are concerns about security,” said its executive director, Corinne Payne.

Liberal MP Elisabeth Prass then recounted an episode in her son’s life. “Last week, the teacher wasn’t there. They told them: ‘Well, you have your phone, so you can spend your class on it.’ He told me: ‘I think that sucks.'”

M^me Prass asked the FCPQ representatives if they agreed to ban “reward screens” in schools, to which Mr.^me Laviolette responded that they certainly needed to be better supervised.

We should also focus on digital education and healthy and ethical use of screens, rather than banning them, she added, affirming that parents also wanted to be better equipped to support their children.

Digital majority: a “false good idea”

One thing is certain: we must stop blaming young people and take on our collective responsibility, believes the co-founder and general director of the Centre for Emotional Intelligence Online, Emmanuelle Parent.

According to her, we must focus on education and awareness, then invest in activities that are beneficial for the health of young people and redouble efforts to better regulate platforms and the industry.

Furthermore, M^me Parent said she was against imposing a numerical majority.

“It’s a false good idea,” she said in response to MP Leduc. “If we decide that the digital majority is 16, I’m going to come back here and I’m still going to be worried about the 16-year-olds who arrive on these platforms that we haven’t regulated, where they still see diet ads. […] This does not solve the problem at its source.”

“It can give a false sense of security,” she added.

The cross-party commission will continue its work on Monday. It is also due to tour schools before submitting its report by May 30, 2025.