Promoting good use of screens with a gender perspective

Preventing the problems associated with the gender gap in the digital age

Education for Critical Action (EdPAC)

In the digital age, the gender gap persists in the use of technology between boys and girls. This means that there are still significant differences in the access and interaction they have with mobile devices, tablets, computers and digital platforms. Similarly, the negative impacts of the use of these devices are also distributed unequally according to gender . Therefore, it is essential to address this disparity in order to build a healthy and equitable relationship with screens and digital environments, as well as to eradicate the discomfort and violence associated with them. Professionals who work with children and adolescents have a vital role in this task.

Gender impacts in the digital age

Technology has a very significant impact on people's lives, especially on children and adolescents. The relationship with leisure and free time, relationships with other people, the construction of identity and self-image, etc. are essential areas of life impacted by screens and digital environments . Although it might seem that this impact is gender-neutral, it is not at all.

Notable gender differences persist in the most basic use of technology: from the choice of devices such as mobile phones and tablets to content preferences (video games, social networks and video platforms). To summarize schematically, on the one hand, boys are often socially encouraged towards video games (a specific and highly masculinized leisure model), while girls are pushed towards social networks and video platforms (promoting the importance of image or the centrality of relationships with other people) and, often, discouraged from experiencing leisure traditionally associated with male roles. On the other hand, boys tend to have more access to devices, to own them and to have less restriction and surveillance in their use.

Boys are often socially encouraged towards video games, a specific and highly masculinized leisure model, while girls are pushed towards social media and video platforms.

The differential impact of gender also exists in other very relevant issues: the type of content that is consumed, the type of social interaction that develops and the asymmetry it has, the demand for exposure or overexposure to which they are subjected or the violence they receive.

Family, school and community prevention in the use of screens

These patterns, which are a reflection of the patriarchal dynamics that operate in our daily lives, play a very relevant role in the psychosocial development of minors. And, consequently, they can have important impacts on the mental health of children and adolescents; impacts related to discomforts such as anxiety or depressive states and, specifically, and generally, in girls often related to aesthetic pressure and self-image or bonding with other people, and in boys, in relation to the management of aggression or isolation. Also, in this sense, a possible problematic relationship with screens and their addiction will be marked by gender.

Proposals for working among professionals

As professionals, it is essential that we carry out our work taking this gap into account and that we especially focus on preventing it and the associated problems. Some lines in which we can work are:

Diversified interests in technological practices . Breaking stereotypes, consciously and consistently, by encouraging girls and boys to explore a wide range of digital activities not constrained by their gender.
Positive digital references . Highlight voices, representations, proposals and achievements of girls, women and other non-normative identities in all fields, especially those that are highly masculinized -technological, scientific and creative-. Highlight and give value to non-normative masculinities.
Feminist media education . Promote the acquisition of critical and feminist thinking to confront digital environments, recognizing and questioning stereotypes, discriminatory practices, violence, etc.
Creating healthier digital environments . Empowering girls to feel capable in masculinized technological environments and educating boys to not be aggressive in these spaces and to be safer. Also working to give status to digital practices and skills traditionally considered feminine.
Promoting healthy use in the fullest sense. Encouraging families to promote reasonable limits, uses and practices unrelated to their gender perception. Encouraging other non-digital, outdoor and social leisure.

As we see, and with regard to screens and digital environments, taking care of people's health requires applying a gender perspective . Eradicating sexism in all its expressions and, specifically, the digital gap and inequality it generates, is a matter of social justice but also of public health.