Our conversation about screens in the lives of our young people continues: the more I write on the subject, the more you write to me to share your findings. Thank you, continue to write to me, I will continue to read you. Your observations are fascinating and they feed my columns.
I summarize the previous columns: growing up with screens1“in” screens, harms brain and social development circuits that took thousands of years to build2. Young people need to play, in real life, to develop. Diving into the virtual world at a very young age is anxiety-provoking in many ways3.
More screen time means less time in reality, explains Jonathan Haidt in a recently launched book on what the virtual world has done to young brains, a book of which a summary is available on the American magazine’s website The Atlantic4.
What do we lose by growing up in the virtual world?
This is one of the underlying questions in this series of occasional chronicles on the screens.
Here are some possible answers, courtesy of teachers who wrote to me in recent days…
AMÉLIE: You talk a lot about parents in your screen reviews. Let’s talk about schools that overuse screens. In visual arts, my 8 year old daughter watches the Pink Panther in EVERY class. In music, we use the screen to show what an opera, a musical comedy, a percussion show are. It seems to me that we could listen to the music instead of watching it. I’m not talking about the daycare that allows children to watch stupid things on YouTube or that uses JustDance instead of sending them to play in the schoolyard.
GENEVIÈVE B., COLLEGE TEACHER: I experienced the arrival of text messages, then access to the internet in class. I have seen students’ behavior change: students no longer interact with each other during breaks. They remain seated at their desks, pacing. Before, I could ask questions in class and spark discussions. It’s now super difficult to get a clear yes or no from them, you’re right: they’re afraid of being judged by their peers5. Instead of risking a response, they remain silent.
MAXIME C., SECONDARY TEACHER FOR 20 YEARS: I love technology. Until recently, I was in favor of teaching that supported students in their use of cell phones. Since the pandemic, I have completely changed my mind. What I notice: young people seem less able to imagine, in addition to the fact that they get involved less and less in front of others, probably for fear of being judged or “banned”.
From early childhood, they were put in contact with YouTube to “make them wait” at the market, in line, at the bank, in the restaurant… It’s all well and good, videos full of colors and sparkling songs, but It leaves nothing to the imagination. So this immense part of the developing brain in children is used less and less and therefore atrophies. I notice this clearly in the impoverishment of the quality of arguments and debates in my class.
If we have difficulty imagining situations, it is difficult to imagine what the other person might experience or feel. I therefore see a real decline in the capacity for empathy. All this pushes us towards a summary understanding, towards simple judgments, without nuances.
I was the first not to want to ban cell phones in class, but faced with the power of social networks, commercial competition, algorithms and artificial intelligence, we are not the weight and the brain sponge of a child or adolescent is certainly not up to the task.
KATHERINE M.: My first secondary students must leave their phones in the designated place as soon as they enter class. It’s management: several of them hang around the door frame and in the corridor, postponing the moment to enter class until a few seconds before the bell.
At the end of the period, when they have worked well, I close the books and give them the last five minutes to talk among themselves… Their reaction: Can we take our phones back?! Answer : NO, are you talking for real…
After 24 years of teaching, mainly in lower secondary education, what strikes me most are the gaps in social skills. This year it is more striking than ever.
NADINE P., PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHER: What I notice most with the generation that grew up with screens is language delays. As teachers, we have noticed in recent years a significant decline in the extent of vocabulary, probably caused by parents who are also constantly on their phones and who communicate less with their children. You have to see them come and pick up their children from daycare without looking at them or talking to them too much because they are texting…
KENZA, COLLEGE TEACHER: For a complementary course, I spoil myself: I completely ban screens. So I provide them with a homemade document with the concepts and they complete it all… with a good old pen.
The experience is remarkable: the level of attention and participation of the students is so much greater than in a regular course. In other classes, no matter how hard I work to be dynamic and interesting, it is clear that I am no match for their screens.
I believe that we remain cautious about limiting screen time at school, we associate technological tools with a gold mine of technological advances…
But we don’t question enough what we leave on the table in exchange.
A SOCIOLOGY TEACHER: I banned taking notes on a computer recently. It was catastrophic: it was difficult to maintain their attention, instead of taking notes, asking questions and discussing, they inevitably drifted to other sites. This session, I banned all screens. There are a lot more discussions and questions in the class. So I will continue on this path, I think that this is a significant social issue even for young adults. We must broaden the questioning to college studies to understand the impact of screens on student concentration.
ANN, SECONDARY TEACHER: I have almost 200 students aged 14 or 15 who have many anxiety disorders. It is common to see students refuse to go to class not because they are experiencing bullying, but because they cannot manage their anxiety. As the Ministry no longer allows cell phones in class, it is I who must enforce the rule. For me and my colleagues, it’s an intensifying battle: they don’t want to be deprived of their cell phones. I see students sleeping in class: they spent the night on their screens.
Yes, I bought my son a cell phone at the start of secondary school, seven months ago. He convinced me, because all his friends already had one: they live online. I regret it: I am stunned to see what he saw online, despite parental controls: anti-Semitism, homophobia, sexism, pornography, awful comments.
I bought him a dog at the same time. Best decision: my son must take care of someone who counts on him… We should prohibit young people from bringing their cell phones to school and have a pet in each class.
Write to me to share your thoughts on the proliferation of screens in our lives
1. Read the column “Our children, the telephone and the virtual”
2. Read the column “Our crazy lives”
3. Read the column “Another story of children and screens”
4. Read “End the Phone-Based Childhood Now” (subscription required)
5. Geneviève refers to an observation by Jonathan Haidt on the explosion of virtual interactions, on networks: “Your reputation is then always at risk, an error or poor performance can damage your social status with a large group of people. people. These interactions then tend to become more theatrical [performative] and cause more stress than face-to-face conversation. »