Exposition aux écrans et croissance psychique

Abstract

AimsScreens are increasingly present in our daily lives and in the lives of our children. Recent figures published by Médiamétrie (2012) for France report daily use of four and a half hours, all screens combined, in the 8–18 age group. Another study by IPSOS (2015) reports that 73% of French children possess at least one personal screen. The present article aims on the one hand to contribute a psychopathological overview of the possible impact of this massive usage on psychic development, and on the other to propose prevention actions among children, parents and professionals in the field. MethodThe method consists in a review of the psychoanalytic literature, returning to the importance of bodily and relational anchorage in the emergence of processes of symbolisation. The author explores the central place of play in psychic development, and establishes a distinction between play and certain practices based on screens (television, tablets etc.). The clinical illustrations are backed up by encounters with parents and the use of the “Three Faces” game in infant school and in a specialised medico-psychological centre for children. ResultsExcessive use of screens does not leave the child enough time to explore his environment through his body and in affective and verbal interaction with those around him. This can, among other things, lead to delays in language acquisition, in psychomotor development and in the assimilation of the body image, or again in the emergence of the function of representation and access to socialisation. DiscussionThe “Three Faces” game is a theatrical activity enabling children to distance themselves and modulate the impact of the omnipresence of images and to return to games of pretending, reinstate narrative abilities, facilitate identification and the naming of emotions, favour the development of empathy and combat the encystment of the postures of aggressor and victim. It is relevant for all children attending school from the ages of 4–5, in order to enhance the school atmosphere and anticipate phenomena of violence and victimisation. It is also a very useful tool in the group therapy approach in child psychiatry. Among young patients, it enables the process of subjectification to be reactivated from images that pervade their daily lives, but that they have difficulty apprehending in terms of meaning, and that can also constitute an irruption in the psyche. ConclusionThe massive exposure to screens has an impact on the psycho-affective and cognitive construction of the child. Parents and professionals need to be informed without dramatisation, putting the emphasis on family regulation of the time spent in front of screens. Regulating screen time in this way means redefining the central place of play in the psychic and bodily development of the child, and in his access to the social world. It also means placing interpersonal exchanges at the centre of the child's development process. The alternatives to screens thus need to be able to offer settings that will foster parent-child interactions and exchanges between parents and between children. In addition, it is also essential to afford opportunities for talking about the images that the child is confronted with (in the family, at school with the Three Faces game), and to offer more education in the use of the media at all ages. Favouring a distancing for reflection, the development of critical abilities, the verbalisation of emotions, creativity through play and access to culture are all essential foundations for children who are to become the citizens of tomorrow.