For some time now, the collective conversation about the impact of screens and social media on the developing brains of young people has been heated. Not just in Quebec. The publication of a book in the United States raises debates and reflections1.
Earlier this week, the Minister responsible for Social Services, Lionel Carmant, floated the idea of perhaps legislating on children’s screen time. He gave no details.
A few days later, his boss qualified the minister’s idea: he did not want to move forward on a bill2. François Legault recalled that parents also have a role to play in their children’s use of screens.
The Prime Minister is absolutely right. Parents have a role to play.
But the blind spot of his observation, in my opinion, is the following: for young people, the time spent in front of screens, the impact of what we find on screens on the development of neurons, social skills and of personality are a collective problem.
And as with all collective problems, the solution is not individual.
Now I’m not going to spit in the soup. I am happy to see that the idea of thinking – and acting – about the impact of screens on the brains of young people is gaining ground in Quebec. I am happy that Paul St-Pierre Plamondon is carrying this file. I’m glad the PM is responding to it.
I don’t know what legislative route could be useful to limit young people’s screen time in the private sphere. American states have imposed strict age limits for accessing social networks, but it remains to be seen whether these laws pass the test of reality.
There is one aspect that the Quebec government, however, completely controls, when it comes to digital technology: school.
We know that the government has banned the use of cell phones in class. This is a good thing, although my feedback from the field suggests that many teachers are exhausted from fighting with students who contest this regulation.
The other aspect completely controlled by the State is the use of digital tools in classes. I talk about taking notes on screen, I talk about the reverence of computers and tablets, digital boards, etc.
The National Institute of Public Health of Quebec (INSPQ) analyzed the data, compiling studies on the link between digital technology and learning among 12 to 25 year olds, and the INSPQ’s findings are worrying: digital technology is class would harm several areas of learning.
The DD Mélissa Généreux spoke recently as part of this column3 of this summary from the INSPQ which suggests that we have brought digital tools into schools, in the name of progress, without asking a basic question… Is it good for learning?
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The DD Melissa Généreux
I quote part of the INSPQ summary4 :
“ [L]These results call for vigilance before replacing digital media with paper and pencil for reading and taking notes in class. While digital media does not seem to bring any added value to learning, it even risks harming text comprehension. By identifying studies comparing the digital medium to paper and pencil, the meta-analyses indicate two main results. On the one hand, comprehension is significantly lower when the text is presented in digital form rather than on paper. On the other hand, no positive effect of digital note-taking on learning emerges from the studies (school grades and score on a memorization and comprehension questionnaire). »
Excerpt from the conclusion:
“ [Les] Recent scientific data suggests that digital devices in the classroom, used for personal or educational purposes, at best provide no benefit to learning, and at worst lead to a negative effect on young people’s cognition. […] In this sense, considering the risks to cognition, it seems important to plan the integration of individual digital devices in the classroom by questioning the added value it brings to learning. »
Minister Carmant vaguely juggles with the idea of legislating, the PM reminds parents. Very well, talking about the impact of screens on children is necessary, especially since the phenomenon – and the string of problems associated with it – is multifactorial.
But on screen time in a school context, the INSPQ’s findings are clear: screens at school are not so essential to learning, they are often even harmful.
On this, the State can act without legislating.
1. Read the column “Our children, the telephone and the virtual”
2. Read the Radio-Canada article “It’s up to parents to limit young people’s screen time, according to François Legault”
3. Read the column “On the role of screens at school”
4. Read the report from the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec (INSPQ)