Alarmed by his own family experience and the latest scientific data, Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon is proposing to tackle the excessive screen time to which young people in Quebec are exposed. A “real public health problem”, according to him. His party will make it one of the priorities of this parliamentary session, he announced on Sunday.
“The idea is not to feel guilty or to make decisions in place of the parents,” says Paul St-Pierre Plamondon from the outset in an interview with The Press Sunday. “But once the statistics confirm it [qu’il y a un problème], I think we can mobilize around that. »
The question of screen time among young people affects the life of the leader of the Parti Québécois (PQ), himself the father of three young children. “My professional life is busy, so a Paw Patrol or a Pebble, when you no longer have time or energy, I know that it fills the time slot,” he emphasizes. “But when you see the effects on the physical and psychological health of young people, it’s alarming. »
His friends are experiencing the same challenges with their own children, adds the 46-year-old. Reading the essay It has to move, by Pierre Lavoie and Jean-François Harvey, published last September, convinced Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon of the importance of the subject. His political party has decided to make it a hobby horse.
A priority
The Parti Québécois will therefore make screen time among young people – “a real public health problem” – one of its priorities during this parliamentary session, the PQ leader announced on Facebook on Sunday.
An “interesting” idea, according to Stéphane Villeneuve, expert in digital integration in schools and professor at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM). “We need digital hygiene, to ensure that young people are able to self-regulate,” he believes. And we need to educate parents, because young people will imitate their parents who are often on their phones or on their computers. »
Quebec has already adopted a strategy on the use of screens and the health of young people, but the PQ leader believes that we must go further and above all, faster.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Paul St-Pierre Plamondon
“We should not pretend to know everything about the subject or want to replace parents, but when it comes to schools and early childhood centers (CPE), the State should be exemplary,” says Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon . He himself says he is surprised that his daughter spends 30 minutes a day in kindergarten watching cartoons, for example.
Not to mention that an expansion of the health system – of psychologists in the public network – will not always be able to respond to this issue, adds the politician.
Stéphane Villeneuve finds it particularly interesting that the PQ makes suggestions to tackle the problem. “Young people need to socialize during breaks at school,” he gives as an example. That they are able to communicate. Ensuring that they rediscover the pleasure of being with each other. »
The issue can be compared to cigarette addiction, targeted in the 1980s, believes Paul St-Pierre Plamondon: “We must dare to imagine a Quebec free of cyberdependence and excessive screen time. »
Suggestions from the Parti Québécois to tackle screen time among young people
- May the State and the education system be exemplary, particularly by removing screens from classrooms.
- Integrate content specific to the use of screens by parents and children in the Birth and Grow guide; and distinguish content and habits that are more harmful to children from those that are more acceptable.
- Study the possibility of banning cell phones and tablets during breaks at school.
- Ban on screens in daycare centers, subsidized and unsubsidized private daycares and in family settings.
- Much more present and audible awareness campaigns on the harmful effects of exposure to screens for children.
- Require that the supplier of a device offer parents the installation of parental controls in Quebec which makes it possible to limit exposure time.
- Study the possibility of establishing a digital majority and forcing social networks to verify the age of the user.
- Include health risks for young people on the packaging of cell phones and tablets.