Family, school and community prevention in the use of screens

Prevention is understood as an organized set of strategies to anticipate the emergence of behaviors likely to lead to addiction. These interventions aim to reduce risk factors and increase protective factors against these behaviors.

This objective is achieved through the application of different strategies, implemented in different areas and at three levels depending on the target population:

• Universal prevention: aimed at the entire population. It is the most general form of prevention.
• Selective prevention: aimed at at-risk populations.
• Indicated prevention: aimed at the population that already has the problem.

Family prevention

The family (or other adult role models, guardians, or the environment in which they live) is a key element in the digital education of children and adolescents. To educate is to accompany, guide, direct, and protect… Their role in this new context is fundamental in supporting them on their digital journey. This is a significant challenge that, nevertheless, requires time and dedication.

POSITIVE DIGITAL PARENTING

We start from the values of positive parenting . Which, according to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, is "the behavior of parents based on the best interests of the child, which cares for, develops the child's abilities, is non-violent and offers recognition and guidance, including setting limits that allow the child's full development."   Mothers and fathers have the fundamental responsibility to educate their sons and daughters and to facilitate their development and look after their interests; therefore, their well-being and development must be a priority.

Based on these premises, it is recommended to:

• Set a good example . Children learn by imitation, so it's important to be consistent between what we do and what we say. Albert Einstein said that   "Setting an example isn't just the main way to influence others, it's the only way." Families must be role models of responsible technology use.
• Establish rules and limits that are consistent and appropriate for their age.   By limiting the time, screen time, and location of the activity. How?:
  - Encouraging moments of disconnection: Do not use electronic devices during meals (use those spaces to talk to them), nor before going to bed, as they stimulate mental activity and make it difficult to sleep.
  - Prioritizing common areas of the house for device use and trying to share them.
  - Rationalizing usage time, prioritizing daily responsibilities and obligations: academic, domestic, etc.
• Promoting positive communication is essential. Establishing good communication with our children is crucial; they should share their thoughts and feelings with us. However, this communication must be bidirectional and reciprocal. We must create opportunities to have conversations and listen attentively to what they tell us, respecting their opinions.
• Encourage critical thinking. Teach students to verify information and identify its sources. Not everything published on the internet is true and accurate.  
• Practice netiquette (socially acceptable online behavior) . Promote values such as empathy and respect. The use of social media should be governed by the same rules of behavior and respect as face-to-face communication.
• Share leisure and free time activities as a family: sports, cultural activities… Make a list of common activities and interests and create meeting spaces to share them as a family.
• Teaching how to protect personal data and   Privacy, understanding the importance of digital reputation. Often, many parents practice sharenting.   (Overexposure of children on social media, that is, excessive use of constantly documenting and reporting on their development). It is advisable to remove these images from social media.

The role of the family in screen use

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INTERVENTIONS

• Workshops for families to promote the healthy use of technology in children. Emphasis will be placed on families with children aged 0 to 3 years.
• Workshops for families to participate with their children and reflect together on the use of technologies.
• Creation of spaces on accredited websites with specific information and consultation service.
• Preparation and dissemination of informational and preventive materials.

PROMOTE GOOD EMOTIONAL EDUCATION

Emotions are subjective reactions to the environment. It is important to teach children how to express, process, regulate, and channel their emotions appropriately—a continuous process throughout their development. The whole family should learn to express their feelings and be consistent in their actions and feelings.

• Empathize: put yourself in their shoes, try to understand their point of view, even if you don't share it.
• Boost their self-esteem. Create positive expectations and confidence, and encourage them to achieve their goals, valuing effort and perseverance.
• Teach them positive forms of expression. Through assertive communication, respecting their rights without infringing on the rights of others.
• Spend time building emotional connections . Express your feelings and affection. No one is ever too old to be told that you love them.

The family or guardians are the main learning environment which, together with the school, constitutes an essential area for preventive action.

School prevention

While families are the primary agents involved in their children's education, schools play a crucial role as spaces for learning and socialization. Therefore, they are ideal settings for prevention efforts. We can assume that older students tend to have greater screen time, more social media accounts, more personal devices, and greater internet access. Furthermore, the school environment allows us to address both universal and targeted prevention, adding a deeper level of focus to our preventative work.

One of the challenges that may exist is the coexistence in many centers with some screens (computers, projectors, tablets, televisions, social networks belonging to the schools, etc.), while at the same time the use of others (mobile phones or portable consoles) is prohibited.

Another challenge lies in the ambivalent messages that may exist with the family, so school prevention should also consider working with the adult role models of these boys and girls, in order to carry out a complete intervention proposal.

INTERVENTIONS

• Workshops to promote critical thinking about screens among students.
• Workshops to address emotional aspects of screen use among students.
• Workshops for adult role models to promote critical thinking about screens.

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Community prevention

Preventive experience demonstrates the need to act across various sectors of the community. This means not implementing isolated initiatives, but rather integrating them into a comprehensive and unified proposal through the active participation, involvement, and shared responsibility of diverse social actors, combining efforts, establishing horizontal communication, and sharing common objectives and defining preventive strategies.

• Sports and leisure educators are role models for young people, play a key role as educators, and can identify situations of risk and problematic use.
• Media outlets. The information and news they transmit, and how they present it, have an impact on the public, which should be used to disseminate best practices, recommendations, resources, etc.
• Primary care and health professionals . As health promoters, they can play a role in transmitting healthy habits and early diagnosis.

We must normalize and integrate prevention in the different areas of the community with a comprehensive and cross-cutting perspective.

INTERVENTIONS

• Preventive activities among peers.
• Conduct information and awareness campaigns and use the media to address health and technology issues.
• Promote technical training in prevention and detection of problematic screen use in adolescents aimed at social agents.
• Develop protocols for action and referral regarding problematic screen use in adolescents and young people.
• Preparation of technical documents and methodological guides on the prevention and intervention of the use and abuse of technologies.

We must also discuss environmental or structural prevention, which has proven highly effective, but whose strategies are often unpopular among young people and various other groups. This involves modifying the cultural, social, and physical environment that fosters behaviors likely to lead to addiction.