A special commission in Quebec has launched a process of consultations to deepen their understanding of the influence that screen time has on children and adolescents. From experts in these spheres of practice to health professionals, parents, and youths, the commission is gathering insights on how excessive use of digital devices is affecting youth. In one of these consultations, officials have been visiting schools in Montreal to hear firsthand testimonies from students.
In fact, Enrico Ciccone, the MNA Liberal member, said that among other problems the young people face is sleep disorders, vision disorders which this prolonged exposure to blue light causes in them, and anxiety when their children are not with their phones. In many students, he added, these issues are recognized, but acting to reduce screen time remains very hard.
Such reports will then be scrutinized based on aspects such as the psychological impact of video games, the addictive characteristics of some applications, or even the general ill that online content may bring, such as cyberbullying, among others. Students who appeared before the recent consultation of the commission confessed that some of these digital activities like gaming and social media are addictive and, hence most of the time wasteful, even though they knew them to be so.
Tyler McGrath, a student at John Rennie High School, explained, “The games, I just get bored with them but I still want more. I can’t stay away from them,” reflecting the addictive nature of some digital content.
By soliciting views from the students, the commission also seeks to empower teachers with better resources to better guide youthful web-using behavior. The commission intends to consider strategies that would counterbalance the adverse impact of screen time by frequent consultations with experts in schools.
It will still continue working on the issue by consulting students, professionals in the health sector, and educators in order to get a complete comprehension of the problem and make concrete recommendations for better monitoring screen time among Quebec’s youngsters.
