(Quebec) No less than seven out of ten Quebecers support the establishment of a digital majority at 16 to open an account on TikTok, Instagram and other social networks, reveals a SOM survey carried out for The Press. The subject will be at the center of the debates of the general council of the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) on Saturday, its first activist meeting since the Parti Québécois (PQ) dethroned it in voting intentions.
Quebecers are more divided on the ban on cell phones everywhere in schools. If 56% of respondents support this measure envisaged by the Legault government, there is a significant generational gap, according to the survey.
The CAQ’s Succession Commission is concerned about the risks of the Facebooks and Snapchats of this world for the mental health and safety of young people. She proposes setting the minimum age at 16 to open an account on a social network. It must be “applied rigorously, in particular using technologies already used by web giants,” specifies its president, Aurélie Diep.
According to her, “it is time to treat social media for what they are: addictive products, just like alcohol, cannabis and gambling”. The CAQ members will decide the question during the general council on Saturday.
Prime Minister François Legault rejected this idea of a numerical majority when PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon suggested it at the beginning of the month. His position seems to have changed: last week, he relayed on social networks an open letter from Aurélie Diep promoting the digital majority.
The Minister responsible for Social Services, Lionel Carmant, affirmed that the government would “seriously study” this idea, while emphasizing that its “feasibility” represents a “challenge”. At the Salon Bleu on Thursday, CAQ deputies, however, refused to give their consent to debate a PQ motion asking “that the National Assembly recognizes the necessity and relevance of establishing a numerical majority.”
According to the SOM study, 71% of the 1,218 Quebec adults surveyed said they were “for the establishment of a digital majority at 16 years old for opening an account on social networks”; 22% are against and 7% do not know or prefer not to answer.
Support, however, drops to 56% among 18-24 year olds. It is above 68% in all other age groups; and even 78% among 55-64 year olds.
Parents of children under 18 are in favor of this measure at 68%.
Florida recently passed a law that prohibits people under 14 from opening an account on a social network. France introduced a digital majority at 15 last year; Under 15s can only open an account on a social network with the consent of a parent.
Cell phones at school
Since 1er January, cell phones are prohibited in elementary and secondary classrooms. The government plans to go further and ban it everywhere in schools, as declared by the Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville.
According to the SOM poll, 56% of Quebecers believe that the government must adopt this measure; 41% are opposed to the idea and 3% do not know or prefer not to answer.
However, parents of children under 18 are against such a ban by a very narrow majority of 51% (46% are for).
The results differ considerably depending on the age group. No less than 74% of 18-24 year olds are in the No camp. Opposition stands at 55% among 25-34 year olds. Those aged 35-44 are very divided (49% against and 46% for).
The ban on cell phones everywhere at school receives the blessing of the oldest: 58% among those aged 45-54, 69% among those aged 55-64 and 71% among those aged 65 or over.
Expedited exercise
On the menu of the CAQ general council, a proposal from the young CAQ members calls for “to regulate the use and daily usage time of screens in schools so that it is strictly educational in nature”. They note that “despite the recent ban on cell phones in class […] “Students still use these in common areas, as well as their tablets and computers in class.” And that’s without counting the interactive tables.
Result: “screens are increasingly omnipresent in schools”. It is a hindrance to the socialization of young people, a source of distraction and a nuisance to concentration, we add.
On the theme of the digital universe, the CAQ general council will be expeditious. It will only last one day, whereas this type of meeting is usually held over two days. The activists will debate for two short hours, according to the agenda. Four hours are reserved for speeches and conferences with experts.
If the general council is shorter, it is because it suited the activists and not for financial reasons, the CAQ is told.
Accused at the start of the year of monetizing access to his ministers, François Legault announced on 1er February that his party renounced political donations, which deprived it of nearly a million dollars per year.
General Director Brigitte Legault emphasizes that the end of popular funding to the CAQ is in effect “until further notice”. She recalls that Mr. Legault said that this decision would be in force “until we perhaps find solutions” with the opposition to review the rules on party financing. But all the other parties rejected his invitation.
To decide what happens next, the CAQ is awaiting the conclusions of the Ethics Commissioner, Ms.e Ariane Mignolet, on the subject of investigations into two CAQ deputies, in particular that of Louis-Charles Thouin launched on January 29. He promised mayors access to a minister in exchange for a contribution to the CAQ. The party could resume collecting political donations based on recommendations made to it by the commissioner.
It is unclear when M’s conclusionse Mignolet will be tabled in the National Assembly. She is absent for an indefinite period due to health problems.
Thanks to its results in the 2022 general elections, the CAQ receives significant funding from the state; nearly five million dollars per year, significantly more than the other parties.
More than 600 people are expected at the general council in Saint-Hyacinthe. This is the first time that activists have met since their party’s sudden drop in voting intentions last fall. A year ago, the CAQ was at the top of the polls and François Legault obtained a vote of confidence from 98.61% of the activists meeting in the general council.
The Prime Minister will be content to grant a press scrum at the start of the general council on Saturday, an exercise shorter than the usual press conference for this type of event. This is directly in line with his decision taken at the start of the year, after his annus horribilis of 2023: to reduce his media output.
A new meeting
This will be a new meeting in The Press. Le Carnet des Collines will present the results of a survey by the firm SOM every Saturday during work weeks at the National Assembly and the House of Commons. Read next week.
Survey methodology
The study was carried out online from May 17 to 22 with a sample of 1,218 Quebec adults registered with SOM’s panel of Internet users. The results were weighted to reflect the main sociodemographic characteristics of Quebec adults. The maximum margin of error is 3.5%, 19 times out of 20.