BACKGROUND

Digital technology is an integral part of the daily lives of children and youth making it vital for them to learn safe and healthy ways to engage with technology. Digital technology has significantly impacted Canadian youth's mental health, with both positive and negative effects. Positive use of digital platforms provides opportunities for social connection, access to information, and educational resources for mental well-being. Conversely, research on digital technology use by children and youth shows a link to negative effects on mental health such as depression, anxiety, chronic stress, and low self-esteem.

 According to the Canadian Paediatric Society (2022), several trends related to young children are reported with increased technology use including decreased levels of physical activity, sleep, and an increase in sedentary behaviour. Evidence does not support that the use of technology at a young age improves learning. Children under 5 years old learn best by interacting with family members and caregivers.

Problem technology use (PTU) is a general term for using digital technology such as video games and social media, in ways that can negatively affect a person's health and well-being related to their physical health, mental health, and social relationships (CAMH, 2024). Locally, most youth in grades 7 to 12 spend at least 3 hours a day on screens, with over half reporting 5 or more hours. Social media use is also high: 90.3% of youth spend at least 2 hours per day and 23.9% reporting spending 5 or more hours, which is similar to the provincial rate of 23.4%. Usage is highest among students in Grades 9 and 10. Further, only 32% are meeting physical activity guidelines and 62% report not getting enough sleep on school nights (OSDUS, 2023). 

Public health has a role in the promotion of healthy development and prevention of harm by supporting digital literacy, resilience, and safe online environments. By educating youth about healthy online behaviors, critical thinking, and digital citizenship, they can navigate digital spaces more safely and responsibly. Parents/caregivers who model healthy screen use and strategies such as family media plans and screen-free times can help families to prevent and address PTU (Lahti et. al., 2024). A coordinated, community wide approach involving families, educators, service providers, municipalities and community organizations strengthens prevention efforts and supports consistent messaging across environments where children and youth live and learn. 

PROPOSED MOTION

Whereas, nearly all children in Canada are exposed to screens by the age of 2, and limiting technology at a young age is important as early screens use can impact language and cognitive development as well as social emotional health; and

Whereas, locally in Windsor-Essex County, 82% of youth in grades 7 to 12 report spending 3 hours or more a day on screens; displacing important health behaviours like being active, adequate sleep, outdoor play, and in-person social interactions; and

Whereas, promoting digital literacy is essential in mitigating negative social, emotional, developmental, and overall health effects of technology use; and

Whereas, parents, caregivers, and educators play a critical role in modeling positive technology habits and supporting digital literacy; and

Whereas, addressing problematic technology use requires a comprehensive, community-driven approach involving collaboration between childcare centers, schools, families, healthcare providers, and policymakers to create supportive environments and interventions; and

Now therefore be it resolvedthat the Windsor-Essex County Board of Health encourages community partners working with pre-school and school aged children to collaborate on the co-development of strategies that help build healthy technology habits and manage digital use; and

FURTHER THAT, the Windsor-Essex County Board of Health will lead collaborative efforts with schools, childcare centres, and community partners to provide consistent messaging and strategies to reduce problematic technology use and its effects on emotional regulation, mental health, sleep, physical activity, and relationships; and

FURTHER THAT, the Windsor-Essex County Board of Health calls on local healthcare providers to integrate conversations about technology use and its effects on development and well-being into well-baby visits and annual checkups; and

FURTHER THAT, the Windsor-Essex County Board of Health recommends that healthcare providers and community organizations provide parents/caregivers tools and resources to identify signs of problematic technology use and guidance on how to seek appropriate support.

Key References

1. Canadian Pediatric Society, Digital Health Task Force. (2019). Digital media: Promoting healthy screen use in school-aged children and adolescents. Pediatric Child Health, 24(6):402–408 
2. Michelle Ponti, Canadian Paediatric Society, Digital Health Task Force. (2022). Screen time and preschool children: Promoting health and development in a digital world. Pediatrics & Child Health, 28(3):184–192
3. Centre for Addiction and Mental Health [CAMH]. (2024). Youth, Smartphones and Social Media Use. Retrieved from https://kmb.camh.ca/uploads/0b9d214a-e13a-4f9c-8240-3dc057bb81f4.pdf
4. Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. (2023). Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey (OSDUHS).
5. Lahti, H., Kulmala, M., Hietajärvi, L., Lyyra, N., Kleszczewska, D., Boniel-Nissim, M., ... & Paakkari, L. (2024). What counteracts problematic social media use in adolescence? A cross-national observational study. Journal of Adolescent Health, 74(1), 98-112.