Plea for a generation glued to screens

Young people and screen time: a subject that concerns many parents… and specialists who have an alarmist tone when they talk about it. If screen time is considered a public health problem, some believe that legislative measures are even needed to protect children and keep them away from their phones or tablets. A lecturer at the University of Sherbrooke goes against the grain and says there is no point in panicking. However, it is high time, according to Emmanuelle Parent, to include young people in the discussion because it is through them that the solution comes.

The speech of adults, in relation to screens, is a very worried and preoccupied speech, which I understand perfectly. But it seems like we’re talking about it among adults, as if young people weren’t there.

Emmanuelle Parent, who has just published Text, publish, scroll at Écosociété, contrasts with the ambient discourse on the place occupied by screens in the lives of young people. Without denying that the time of use is, in many cases, excessive and harmful to health, it offers a more nuanced reading.

Have a positive discourse, rather than paternalistic

: “your generation is sacrificed”. We don’t believe it at all.”,”text”:”We hear a lot of people saying: “your generation is being sacrificed”. We don’t believe it at all.”}}”>We hear a lot: “your generation is being sacrificed”. We don’t believe it at all. Rather than having a paternalistic and directive attitude towards young people and their smartphones, Emmanuelle Parent offers an approach focused on education and collaboration.

Inspired by his doctoral thesis in communications, it sheds light on the world in which the digital generation is immersed. Through testimonials collected from users, she decodes the culture around the platforms used by teenagers and the strategies of web giants to keep them glued to their screen.

If we want to think about solutions in relation to risks, we must integrate them into the conversation.

She commonly has this conversation with teenagers. Returning from the Quebec Book Fair, she enthusiastically recounts the interest she notices among the younger generation when the time comes to discuss their stories related to digital technology. They reflect. They take the time to discuss it. We’re talking about social media, but that immediately leads into deeper topics […] like self-esteem.

To help raise awareness and empower young people, she co-created, a few years ago, the Center for Online Emotional Intelligence (CIEL).

Supported by the Ministries of Health and Education, the organization of which she is the general director reaches out to young people in schools. One of the objectives is to clearly explain that the object that sucks them in like a black hole is precisely designed to capture their attention. The idea is to help young people develop their critical thinking.

We explain to them, depending on their age and where they are, how social networks work, how advertising works, the attention economy and data research; how can this affect our reward system; why it’s difficult to quit.

The training offered by CIEL also emphasizes the importance of not organizing your life around the screen. For Emmanuelle Parent, who has met hundreds of young people since she became interested in the issue, this is the main issue.

Where else have you cut out in your life that could have been a more fulfilling activity? For me, the risk is there. Neglecting other aspects of life that could really do us good.

The lecturer at the University of Sherbrooke believes that young people understand the issues because they experience the repercussions. : “I deleted the app because I was fed up. I find it difficult to do other activities. There are people I find unpleasant online””,”text”:”Them- even tell us: “I deleted the app because I was fed up. I find it difficult to do other activities. There are people I find unpleasant online””}}”>They themselves tell us: “I deleted the application because I was fed up. I find it difficult to do other activities. There are people I find unpleasant online”she gives as an example.

By addressing their intelligence, Emmanuelle Parent is betting that in the end, they will sort things out.

Fear of new technologies

The director of SKY reminds us that, always, the arrival of new technologies brings with it a lot of concerns. The first televisions in homes, portable music players, video games, rock music: adults constantly worried about their children and sometimes judged them for their choices.

Every technology that arrives, that is massively adopted by young people, we tend to perceive it as a threat to their innocence. We want to protect them, we want to avoid serious consequencesshe specifies.

To prevent the gap between generations from widening further, we must maintain communication, argues Emmanuelle Parent. Even if the content consumed by young people and the exchanges they have seem futile to us, it is wise to take an interest in it, according to her. “We must have the same attitude towards our 14 year old child with the game Fortnite than when we helped her do a 20-piece puzzle during her early childhood,” she says. This therefore means asking questions about this universe in which the young person gets lost for hours, about the characters, about the interest they find there. This is how we can achieve a constructive exchange with children, she believes.

We must not abandon them, even if the children begin to have an emancipatory attitude. They say it: “My parents don’t even know what I play. They don’t care.” It’s sad to hear that.

Social networks can be good

Emmanuelle Parent thinks that social networks bring positive elements to the lives of young people. It’s important to recognize them, she pleads. Yes, the content can occasionally be inappropriate, but it is mostly positive in his eyes. It can also prove to be an instrument of emancipation for some looking for a community of spirit.

She cites young people she met over time. Me, I like drawing manga and I get bullied for it at school, but online, there is a whole community that supports me and encourages me in what I doone of them told him, for example. I like sharing sports photos because when I play well, I’m proud of myselfanother told him. [Les réseaux sociaux] allow them to express themselves, to find their place in the worldshe insists

Parents, lead by example!

Without wishing to make anyone feel guilty, Emmanuelle Parent believes that adults must also set an example and be consistent with their own use and the instructions they give. She reminds us that adults can also be absorbed by digital tools. She gives the example of young people who deplore the lack of attention towards them when their parents are in turn sucked in by their phone.

The director of SKY refuses to present children as victims of screens, but rather as intelligent beings who have the power to act for their well-being. She believes that parents are capable of guiding them, without the need for state intervention to constrain usage time.

However, she believes that governments have a duty to intervene at several levels. I am more than open to legislation that regulates the platforms, which further protects our privacy and to the implementation of government campaigns on public health recommendations.