Ontario school boards sue social media platforms

As reported by the CBC recently, four school boards in Ontario—the public district school boards of Toronto, Peel, and Ottawa-Carleton, along with Toronto’s Catholic board—plan to take social media to court.

The school boards claim that platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok have an incredibly negative impact on how children think, behave, and learn in school. They also allege that students are facing an “attention, learning, and mental health crisis” due to “prolific and compulsive use of social media products.”

The concern is that these social media companies have created products that are addictive and marketed to children—a problematic combination. The fight now is to hopefully have these companies held accountable, and also have safer products created for children.

While this is a step in the right direction, there’s no set date for when the allegations will be heard in court, which could leave many parents concerned and wondering what they can do.

Screen time and social media use can feel like an uphill battle. It’s a problem that many parents and caregivers face and struggle with daily. We know how negative screen time can be for children, but it’s hard to find realistic solutions. If you’re looking for help, some of these suggestions and resources below might work for you.

And if you’d like to read more about the lawsuit, find more here.

Helpful screen time solutions and resources:

• When it’s not worth the fight: 9 small ways to change screen time habits
• Easy habits for managing kids’ screen time
• Because cold turkey isn’t realistic: How to reduce your child’s screen time
• How to set a realistic summer screen time plan for your tween
• These simple tools can help parents manage screen time
• 5 tips for limiting screen time without conflict