School boards on a crusade against social media
Are teachers and schools grappling with the problems created by some young people's addiction to social media? In Ontario, four school boards are accusing the parent companies of Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok of disrupting student learning and are seeking more than $4 billion from them.
What is the purpose of these lawsuits?Recognizing that students' mental health, attention and learning are affected by excessive use of social media, the school boards of the Toronto District, the District of Peel and the District of Ottawa-Carleton as well as the Toronto District Catholic School Board filed four complaints with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on Thursday.
The companies behind the apps most popular with young people are seeking to "maximize their profits" at the expense of students' well-being, the school boards argue, saying it's teachers and schools who have to deal with the consequences for young people, including increasing mental health support.
There are few precedents on which to base a decision to consider a way out of this legal action, says Marie-Pier Jolicoeur, a doctoral student in law at Laval University.
"These are big, very expensive lawsuits, which may have a chance of being settled and not going to trial, which is sometimes a shame because the court is a forum that allows you to bring things to light and to invite experts, to have parties testify," explainsMs. Jolicoeur.
This legal action is not unprecedented: Hundreds of school boards in the U.S., as well as some U.S. states, have filed similar lawsuits against social media companies. In Quebec, three parents of underage gamers have filed a class action lawsuit against Fortnite, denouncing the addiction caused by this game.
In this context, "it's not surprising that we come to question the elephant in the room that are the web giants, rather than being in a discourse that makes parents feel guilty, or demonizes young people," observes Marie-Pier Jolicoeur,
who specializes in technology law and children's rights.
Could Quebec schools follow suit?Schools for Social Media Change, which brings together Ontario school boards that are suing social media giants, declined to be interviewed by La Presse, but when asked if school service centres in Quebec could join the movement, they said that for now, the focus has been on Ontario schools.
"We believe this is an issue that affects schools and school authorities across the country," said Duncan Embury, general counsel at Neinstein LLP, which represents Ontario school boards and is funding the lawsuit.
The Fédération des centres de services scolaires du Québec says it has not heard of any such lawsuits that could be brought by its members, but agrees "that young people's reliance on social networks can be a disruptive element for students' learning and that it adds a burden to the school system."
The Federation of Private Educational Institutions (FEEP) believes that it is not its role to prosecute.
But yes, says its president David Bowles, "we see digital addictions among young people." "You see kids playing the same games over and over again. But schools take young people into the society in which they live," he adds.
Education Minister Bernard Drainville's office points out that cell phones were banned in Quebec school classrooms last January.
"We must continue to think about the actions to be taken," wrote Antoine de la Durantaye, Bernard Drainville's press officer.
What effect do screens have on students?Ontario school boards say the targeted companies "knew, or ought to have known" that designing platforms that encourage addictive behaviours would create problems in schools.
"We know that many platforms employ reinforcement strategies, gamification strategies that are used in games of chance," says Caroline Fitzpatrick, professor of education at the Université de Sherbrooke and holder of the Canada Research Chair in Children's Use of Digital Media.
The professor's work has shown that the use of video games, especially among boys, leads to a reduction in academic motivation. For both boys and girls, the more time you spend playing video games, the more likely you are to develop ADHD symptoms.
"Other studies also show that excessive screen use can have a negative impact on academic performance and attention. Certainly, for a teacher, it's a bigger challenge to manage a group of students who are less motivated, less engaged and less able to maintain their concentration,"says Fitzpatrick.
Teachers who have been sounding the alarm over the past few years, according to the Federation of Teachers' Unions. Parents have also expressed concern: a recent study by the Fédération des comités de parents du Québec found that children's screen time is the main concern of Quebec parents.
What is the purpose of these lawsuits?Recognizing that students' mental health, attention and learning are affected by excessive use of social media, the school boards of the Toronto District, the District of Peel and the District of Ottawa-Carleton as well as the Toronto District Catholic School Board filed four complaints with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on Thursday.
The companies behind the apps most popular with young people are seeking to "maximize their profits" at the expense of students' well-being, the school boards argue, saying it's teachers and schools who have to deal with the consequences for young people, including increasing mental health support.
There are few precedents on which to base a decision to consider a way out of this legal action, says Marie-Pier Jolicoeur, a doctoral student in law at Laval University.
"These are big, very expensive lawsuits, which may have a chance of being settled and not going to trial, which is sometimes a shame because the court is a forum that allows you to bring things to light and to invite experts, to have parties testify," explainsMs. Jolicoeur.
This legal action is not unprecedented: Hundreds of school boards in the U.S., as well as some U.S. states, have filed similar lawsuits against social media companies. In Quebec, three parents of underage gamers have filed a class action lawsuit against Fortnite, denouncing the addiction caused by this game.
In this context, "it's not surprising that we come to question the elephant in the room that are the web giants, rather than being in a discourse that makes parents feel guilty, or demonizes young people," observes Marie-Pier Jolicoeur,
who specializes in technology law and children's rights.
Could Quebec schools follow suit?Schools for Social Media Change, which brings together Ontario school boards that are suing social media giants, declined to be interviewed by La Presse, but when asked if school service centres in Quebec could join the movement, they said that for now, the focus has been on Ontario schools.
"We believe this is an issue that affects schools and school authorities across the country," said Duncan Embury, general counsel at Neinstein LLP, which represents Ontario school boards and is funding the lawsuit.
The Fédération des centres de services scolaires du Québec says it has not heard of any such lawsuits that could be brought by its members, but agrees "that young people's reliance on social networks can be a disruptive element for students' learning and that it adds a burden to the school system."
The Federation of Private Educational Institutions (FEEP) believes that it is not its role to prosecute.
But yes, says its president David Bowles, "we see digital addictions among young people." "You see kids playing the same games over and over again. But schools take young people into the society in which they live," he adds.
Education Minister Bernard Drainville's office points out that cell phones were banned in Quebec school classrooms last January.
"We must continue to think about the actions to be taken," wrote Antoine de la Durantaye, Bernard Drainville's press officer.
What effect do screens have on students?Ontario school boards say the targeted companies "knew, or ought to have known" that designing platforms that encourage addictive behaviours would create problems in schools.
"We know that many platforms employ reinforcement strategies, gamification strategies that are used in games of chance," says Caroline Fitzpatrick, professor of education at the Université de Sherbrooke and holder of the Canada Research Chair in Children's Use of Digital Media.
The professor's work has shown that the use of video games, especially among boys, leads to a reduction in academic motivation. For both boys and girls, the more time you spend playing video games, the more likely you are to develop ADHD symptoms.
"Other studies also show that excessive screen use can have a negative impact on academic performance and attention. Certainly, for a teacher, it's a bigger challenge to manage a group of students who are less motivated, less engaged and less able to maintain their concentration,"says Fitzpatrick.
Teachers who have been sounding the alarm over the past few years, according to the Federation of Teachers' Unions. Parents have also expressed concern: a recent study by the Fédération des comités de parents du Québec found that children's screen time is the main concern of Quebec parents.
