“How can we support our children when intensive use of screens has become normalized? »

A notification that interrupts a discussion, a phone call that falls in the middle of a family game… These digital interruptions, also called “technoreferences”, have become omnipresent in our daily lives, even in our most intimate moments.

From a very young age, children observe their parents glued to their phones, their attention captured to the detriment of moments of exchange essential to their social and emotional development. This reality raises a major challenge: how can we support our children in a world where the intensive use of screens has become normal?

Digital, a lever for development

Technoference is not just a matter of time spent in front of a screen, it is also a question of overstimulation and commercial exploitation of personal data, as demonstrated in its report by the commission of experts on impact of young people’s exposure to screens. Faced with these issues, and aware that we, adults, are sometimes bad examples in our own uses of digital technology, a crucial question arises: how can we prepare our children to evolve in a digital world in a balanced way?

While some advocate a strict disconnection, digital technology, used intelligently, can be a tremendous lever for development. Collaborative online projects, immersive educational applications, and creative platforms enrich children’s learning experience and enhance their creativity. For parents, digital tools also offer valuable resources: maintaining social ties with family and friends, parenting support communities, access to expert advice, or even sharing experiences with other parents. .

Equipping the educational community

This is why Réseau Canopé, Clemi, and Bayard Jeunesse have joined forces to act by creating Croc’Écran and offering to equip the educational community, from teachers to parents, to enable children to understand the role of screens in their daily life and use digital tools creatively and responsibly.

Many other initiatives enrich this national dynamic. For families: Unaf with “My child and the screens” and the “Parents, let’s talk digital” label, Open which runs parent workshops, and the E-Enfance association and its number 3018 against cyberharassment. For digital education: Internet without fear and Tralalère, organizers of Safer Internet Day and creators of the FamiNum application, as well as the Education League with its media education courses. For the protection of rights: the EducNum collective of the Cnil which works for an inclusive and child-friendly digital technology.

Formation continue

On the ground, local initiatives are also multiplying: digital educational territories with a “digital parenting” component, supported by the Ministry of National Education and the public interest group The project kit, the “Screen Education” system » Cemea in Normandy, or even weeks without screens in different regions.

Continuing teacher training is one of the most powerful levers we can pull. By giving them the means to master these tools, we help them not only to guide children towards thoughtful use of digital technology, but also to integrate technologies in an innovative way into their educational practices. A trained teacher can, for example, use augmented reality applications to make science lessons more interactive, or encourage students to create their own content.

Media education

Media and information literacy is another essential pillar. It allows children to develop their critical thinking by learning to decode the messages they are confronted with, to better understand the mechanisms that capture their attention, and to discern truth from falsehood in the face of the constant flow of information. Thanks to the educational resources developed by Clemi and Bayard Jeunesse, children learn to question the content they consume and adopt responsible behavior online. These resources are also essential tools to help parents understand the proper use of digital tools and support them in their role as guide during their children’s first steps in the digital world.

Our common vision is that of a respectful and humanist digital technology, which promotes autonomy, learning and civic responsibility. It is only by initiating a real dialogue between schools, parents and children that we can make digital technology a source of fulfillment and opportunities. Only co-education, based on collaboration, will make it possible to build a balanced use of digital technology and build a world where it becomes a vector of emancipation and citizen inclusion.

This is why all of us involved in society – educators, researchers, public institutions, digital companies, associations and parents – want and call on as many people as possible to join forces to build together an ethical and caring digital framework.