Articles on Cell Phone Use in Schools
As you all know, I am very concerned about the impact of social media on young people’s mental health and am carrying a bill to address social media companies’ use of algorithms to target young people with unsolicited content.
I try to keep up on research on this issue and recently read two articles that I have shared with school boards in our district as they prepare for the school year.
This Atlantic article, by researcher Jonathan Haidt, argues for ending student use of cell phones during school.
This Guardian article looks at a UNESCO recommendation to limit both cell phone and ALL screens in school. This second issue has been brought to me by parents who are frustrated by the number of hours even elementary students spend on screens during the school day. It seems that teachers became increasingly reliant on technology during the covid closures and some continue to teach by having kids on devices or looking at screens for many hours each day.
I know some parents are concerned about not being able to contact their student during the school day, but I think there are sensible solutions that can limit students’ cell phone access during instructional time that will help improve students’ mental health and their academic achievement.
If you do not know your school’s cell phone policy, please contact your local school to find out what it is and how you can help prepare your children for going back to school. If your school doesn’t actively enforce their cell phone policy or if they don’t limit use, consider talking to your school board members about doing more to help students spend less time on their phones during the school day.
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