Let’s Talk About: The Advantages Of A Digital Local Currency

THE PARENTING BIZ Tools To Help Cope With Youth Digital Dependency In Our Increasing Online World

By Janay Warren

One of the many impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the increase in technology use as a means of connection and entertainment.

While there are fantastic games, learning tools, video chat apps and more that has made physical distancing more bearable, a question one may ask is — how much is too much?

The struggle for perhaps the majority of parents or caregivers starts when they ask their youth to take a break from their electronics. This request is often met with arguments and resistance.

Why does this happen and how can we help these youngsters who are struggling to take a break?

There are some practical tips that can assist someone who may be experiencing digital dependency.

One of the first steps is to assess the extent of use. A way of doing this is to record or log the amount of time spent with digital sources. This can often highlight the extent of overuse or assess the “balance” or technology time.

An important balance applicable to everyone is the time spent online versus offline. If you see the scale is tipped in favour of being more online than not, this could be a signal that change is necessary.

Sit down with your youth and create a plan or a schedule. When you create the schedule, it is vital that there is youth involvement, otherwise there may not be engagement or openness.

Another technique is to make plans to do something fun together and to ensure you involve other members of the household.

Being out of school, separated from friends, and then asking to also separate from online peers is not easy for youth.

Making plans that include elements of social connectedness may make the process of “disconnecting” easier.

In the end, it is important to establish limits and guidelines. Being firm and adhering to these limits and guidelines is the most important thing that can be said when it comes to curtailing technology use.

We recognize this is no easy feat, especially when COVID-19 has left you at home with your youth all day, looking to fill their time and avoid hearing the words, “I’m bored”.

Yes, it is a challenging time. There may be difficult days full of outbursts and screaming, and at times it will just feel easier to give in than to follow through. However, the more you stay firm, the quicker the outbursts will fade.

Concerns about addiction, dependence or overuse of tech is something HôtelDieu Grace Healthcare’s (HDGH) Centre

for Problem Gambling and Digital

Dependency (CPGDD) hears quite often.

Regarding technology, there is no official diagnostic tool that will definitively say whether someone has a digital dependency. Instead, the counselling staff at the CPGDD uses an individualized and holistic approach that analyzes how someone may be negatively affected by technology.

When working with younger children, family or caregiver involvement is imperative to creating and maintaining change. Recognizing the importance of caregiver engagement, the CPGDD collaborated with colleagues at HDGH’s Regional Children’s Centre to create the “Heads Up” program.

Heads Up is a five week workshop that assists parents and caregivers when working through challenges around digital dependency. The staff will help facilitate plans such as establishing and setting technology limits, along with helping to address any potential negative behaviours that may surface as a result.

After taking these concepts into consideration, you may be able to justify whether or not your feelings about your child’s digital dependency are valid. And if so, you can use these tips to help ease any “tech-stress” within your home.

If you find that you or your loved one is struggling, CPGDD has counsellors available to help you through this process. Services are available for individuals, parents or caregivers 16 years and older. Learn more at: HDGH.org. Janay Warren, M.S.W.,R.S.W., CPGC,C.C.A.C., is a counsellor at the Centre For Problem Gambling and Digital Dependency (CPGDD). She first started with this program in 2005 as a part-time support worker in the three week Residential Treatment Centre and began her career thinking she would be working exclusively with substance use. Yet when the opportunity to work at CPGDD presented itself, she took the leap and hasn’t looked back. Working at CPGDD has allowed her to meet some truly wonderful individuals who happened into rough times. It has also allowed her to grow as a professional after starting as a support worker, then returning to school and now working as a counsellor for the past two years. It’s truly been a rewarding experience for Janay to work with local individuals and families.

If A Local Digital Currency Is Right For Windsor By Harry Lauder

Money flows to the centre. It is an economic reality that throughout history has always been true. The wealth of nations and empires is inevitably drawn from the outer provinces to the centre of power.

It is said to be the price we pay for the benefits of living in a great society, but there are times when the payments exacted outweigh the benefits.

Whatever happens, after COVID-19 finally releases its grip on our community, it won’t be business as usual. Social distancing protocols and lockdowns have done their work. Measures intended to protect us have come with a cost. Hard times have arrived, but the wealth of our community continues to be drained away.

Is there a way to stop that? Can we keep the wealth produced by our community here where it is needed?

We are living in interesting times, and novel solutions may be required to set us back on a path to prosperity. Has the time arrived for a complementary currency to be considered?

A complementary currency is a medium of exchange intended as an alternative to the national currency. It is not a new idea.

Complementary currencies have existed in communities across Europe and the United States for decades. And in 2018 the City of Calgary introduced Canada’s first local digital currency, Calgary Dollars (CalgaryDollars.ca).

Calgary Dollars Manager Sierra Love indicates, “Calgary Dollars is both a program and a currency. There are currently $67,268 Calgary Dollars in circulation and 1,425 digital users. As we build collaborations with communities, organizations, and the City, participation increases. Having a strong link with the local government is important. For example, our businesses can pay 50% of their base business licences in Calgary Dollars.”

A 2019 survey of Calgary Dollars users found the following: 86% have been

encouraged to buy more locally; 70% somewhat agreed, agreed, or strongly agreed that they are more involved in their community; 60% somewhat agreed, agreed, or strongly agreed that they have established relationships of trust due to Calgary Dollars.

Love points out, “Our program is multifaceted, our goals being community building, community economic development, local resilience, and sustainability.”

Participating merchants set the amount of Calgary Dollars they will accept as payment for their goods or services. This amount can be as low as 10% or as high as 100%.

Calgary resident Gordon Johansen is the owner of The Sentry Box, which sells board games, collectibles, and fantasy items. He is an enthusiastic participant.

When asked if the merchants in Windsor would benefit from something like Calgary Dollars, Johansen had this to say: “Since I have nothing I can say that is negative about it, I would guess that most other merchants would benefit if they set it up right. The trick is that you have to set your allowable percentage paid in local currency to a level that you are comfortable with. We allow 50%, for example, which is 10% more than my cost. It is good advertising for the business.”

So, would “Windsor Dollars” free our community from the malaise that we are currently enduring? Proponents of such parallel currencies would say yes and cite several advantages to their use.

These include . . . 1. Stop the flood of money, leaving the community into absentee bank accounts. 2. Ensure that money circulates to local enterprises and people. 3. Promote resilience in the community, protecting it from global instability. 4. Reduce the energy footprint of the community by supporting local goods and production.

That all sounds great, but would Windsor Dollars provide any of those benefits in practice?

Pat O’Halloran, owner of Allegra

Marketing Print Mail Windsor West

(1800 Huron Church Road, Unit 100 in Windsor; AllegraWindsorEssex.com) has heard those claims before. They don’t ring true to him.

Allegra has been in business since 1987. Pat joined the company in 1994 as a Centre Manager before switching his energies and expertise to direct sales.

Marketing graphic provided by Calgary Dollars.

In 2018 Patrick and his wife Teresa took a giant leap and purchased the fullservice marketing, print service, and sign company.

When asked to share his thoughts on digital currency, O’Halloran comments: “To give some background, we had used something similar when we had a location in Troy, Michigan. It was called trade dollars. The issue with trade dollars was not all businesses participated. You wound up going back and using the services of the business that had your trade dollars. The accounting was also very challenging.”

He continues with, “There are other issues, but too many to mention here. Additionally, for my business, at least a large percentage of my business is government work (college, university, hospital, elementary and secondary schools, federal government) and I would not be able to use any of the Windsor Dollars.”

A complementary currency is not something he considers worth pursuing unless it could meet precise criteria.

First, it would need to be fully convertible into Canadian dollars at any financial institution.

Second, it would need to be accepted at all establishments for any purchase.

These qualities are not a feature of any non-national currency in existence at this time.

Brian Yeomans, Chair of the

Downtown Windsor Business

Improvement Association (website: DowntownWindsor.ca), also has several concerns about the idea.

When asked to contribute his thoughts on the notion, he offered this: “The concept of Windsor (or any city, for that matter) Dollars, is intriguing. My challenges with it would be the substantial capital in its creation, the expectation of all Windsor businesses to participate, and the tracking of it. There are other factors to consider as well such as, what if the company is not Windsor-based, but just had a satellite location here? Would they exclude themselves? Where would tourists or visitors buy these dollars? I believe the best plan of action would be to promote local, advertise amongst our local communities, and use the money that would have gone to creating a difficult currency for promotion and marketing of the riches that Windsor has to offer.”

So, does that put an end to the discussion? Perhaps not.

Critics of complementary currencies point to the implementation of such schemes, not their intentions. How they are created, used, and administered are all legitimate concerns that directly affect the success or failure of such an enterprise.

However, a complementary currency is not much different from the customer reward programs that corporate stores use to attract consumer spending.

The success of those programs would suggest there is some hope for a local currency.

Versatility and ease of use would be needed to attract local shoppers. If Windsor Dollars were widely accepted and as easy to use as a points card, they might have a chance.

Participation by the City of Windsor would also make a difference. Could Windsor Dollars be used to purchase Transit Windsor bus tokens? Could they be used to pay municipal taxes? (City council would probably require major time to debate this issue thoroughly so best not to get too excited about this one!)

There are plenty of questions and very few answers at this point. The only thing certain is that significant changes are on the horizon, and we have a choice.

We can choose to manage those changes, or we can do what we have always done and allow those changes to manage us.

Time is short — let’s talk about it.