Impact of screens on young Quebecers: Meta and TikTok at the National Assembly
Digital giants Meta and TikTok will appear at the end of November before the members of the National Assembly in charge of studying the impact of screens and social networks on young Quebecers.
"Everyone is of the opinion that we need to better regulate the use of screens, that's undeniable. Everyone is also of the opinion that platforms play a big role, occupy a big place in the lives of young people, so we want to hear from them too," said CAQ MNA Amélie Dionne, chair of the special commission to look into their omnipresence in the lives of children and adolescents.
In particular, the parliamentarians are evaluating the possibility of banning smartphones from schools, not just classrooms. The Parti Québécois is in favour of it and Minister Bernard Drainville has not ruled it out. There is also talk
of a minimum age for access to social networks.
Meta Canada and TikTok Canada will therefore be before a parliamentary committee on November 25 to answer questions from Quebec's elected officials.
Until then, the deputies will be on the ground. After hearing from many scientists and representatives of the education network, the Special Commission is visiting schools in eastern Quebec this week to take the pulse of students.
The tour began Tuesday on the North Shore at a high school in the Indigenous community of Pessamit and at an elementary school in Baie-Comeau. The next few days will be devoted to institutions in the Bas-Saint-Laurent and Gaspésie regions. The MPs will then travel to Quebec City, Montreal and the Outaouais region. All interested citizens are also invited to participate through an online consultation.
Schools that have tightened the screwsThe elected officials chose the schools in order to hear from elementary school students and high school teenagers with various profiles: schools that have tightened the screws on cell phones, others that are more permissive, English, French, private and public schools.
"Following the consultation with the experts, we got information that in municipal areas where sports and cultural infrastructures are very present, it can affect screen time. There are also schools that have more educational tools than in other schools, that's all that we wanted to verify by touring schools by talking to students, if all this has an impact on screen time," says the MNA for Rivière-du-Loup–Témiscouata.
Amélie Dionne says that the students consulted so far have opened up about their digital habits, those of their parents and the rules that prevail at home regarding screen time. But above all, many emphasized the extent to which cell phones are a social tool for today's young people.
"We have noticed that they use it a lot to talk with their friends. Before, it was the good old phone, we could spend two or three hours on the phone," she says.
"Everyone is of the opinion that we need to better regulate the use of screens, that's undeniable. Everyone is also of the opinion that platforms play a big role, occupy a big place in the lives of young people, so we want to hear from them too," said CAQ MNA Amélie Dionne, chair of the special commission to look into their omnipresence in the lives of children and adolescents.
In particular, the parliamentarians are evaluating the possibility of banning smartphones from schools, not just classrooms. The Parti Québécois is in favour of it and Minister Bernard Drainville has not ruled it out. There is also talk
of a minimum age for access to social networks.
Meta Canada and TikTok Canada will therefore be before a parliamentary committee on November 25 to answer questions from Quebec's elected officials.
Until then, the deputies will be on the ground. After hearing from many scientists and representatives of the education network, the Special Commission is visiting schools in eastern Quebec this week to take the pulse of students.
The tour began Tuesday on the North Shore at a high school in the Indigenous community of Pessamit and at an elementary school in Baie-Comeau. The next few days will be devoted to institutions in the Bas-Saint-Laurent and Gaspésie regions. The MPs will then travel to Quebec City, Montreal and the Outaouais region. All interested citizens are also invited to participate through an online consultation.
Schools that have tightened the screwsThe elected officials chose the schools in order to hear from elementary school students and high school teenagers with various profiles: schools that have tightened the screws on cell phones, others that are more permissive, English, French, private and public schools.
"Following the consultation with the experts, we got information that in municipal areas where sports and cultural infrastructures are very present, it can affect screen time. There are also schools that have more educational tools than in other schools, that's all that we wanted to verify by touring schools by talking to students, if all this has an impact on screen time," says the MNA for Rivière-du-Loup–Témiscouata.
Amélie Dionne says that the students consulted so far have opened up about their digital habits, those of their parents and the rules that prevail at home regarding screen time. But above all, many emphasized the extent to which cell phones are a social tool for today's young people.
"We have noticed that they use it a lot to talk with their friends. Before, it was the good old phone, we could spend two or three hours on the phone," she says.
