Major UN report issues warning over excessive use, with one in six countries already banning the devices
I personally think that responsible smartphone use should be learned and practiced, rather than outright banning them.
I think this shows that adults are terribly addicted to their devices and think if they can't stop using them, children won't either. They certainly can't teach how to use phones responsibly if they can't do it themselves. Unfortunately for children the result is an outright ban.
Smartphone use is certainly something that should be decided on local level. Global bans only make sense for universal human rights, or things like climate change that have global effects.
Tbh I'd never been allowed to use my phone at school (just graduated HS). Same goes for most schools where I live. Usually kids can bring phones, but they're supposed to keep them powered off or in a locker on campus. Of course kids will find a way (hiding away in toilet stalls to game etc.), but still.
I don't see an issue with the rule itself. I don't think there's really a way to responsibly use a smartphone at school. If kids really need to contact parents, it shouldn't be that difficult to ask a teacher for help. Implementing a worldwide rule seems strange to me though.
Almost same experience here. In HS you could have your phone, but leave it on silence and not use it during class. In college you are more 'free' to use it whenever you want, but if you're serious about your studies you leave it on your bag and pay attention.
Yeah, no. Phones on students are vital, particularly the United States, where a shooter might just mosey on in any time and open fire. Phones play a huge role in active shooter situations, which unfortunately show no sign of slowing down.
He added: “We completely understand the legitimate concerns around the use of mobile phones, including cyberbullying, the impact of extended screen time on mental health, and the lack of regulation of big technology companies. The fact is though that the widespread use of smartphones is a societal issue and problems that result from this are more likely to arise outside of the school gates.”
Banning phones in school does not help to fix any of this. At most it just pushes it to the rest of their lives. Maybe we should be looking at educating our children about these topics, not ignoring them for as long as possible...
I think this shows that adults are terribly addicted to their devices and think if they can’t stop using them, children won’t either. They certainly can’t teach how to use phones responsibly if they can’t do it themselves. Unfortunately for children the result is an outright ban.
Yeah, so we need to tackle the problem in some way, not just ignoring it with a ban. A ban teaches them nothing about how to use their devices responsibly. Additionally - the probably should be some legislation on what tech companies are doing here as well. Things like facebook pushing any content it can for more views even if they have shown to have negative impacts on peoples mental health is something that really should be regulated. Profits at the expense of peoples mental health should not be allowed.
Maybe we should be looking at educating our children about these topics, not ignoring them for as long as possible...
Educator here. That sounds like a great plan...if the students would put their phones down for long enough to teach them anything
This is the exact issue teachers are facing. There is very little teaching that can break through the continuous cycle of dopamine hits these kids are receiving into their still-developing brains. This is not an education problem. This is a design issue that teachers cannot be expected to simply "fix" for society.
I agree with your points on regulating businesses though, since they are clearly the ones to blame.
This is a design issue that teachers cannot be expected to simply “fix” for society.
Yes, which a ban wont help to fix at all either - at least not in the long term. Education IMO is still an important part of fixing society though, especially if you can get to children before they have phones ingrained into their lives. But I don't think this is on teachers alone to fix - it needs to be more systemic changes in education systems. At the very least far more (or any) research needs to be done to find actual effective measures that we could do.
But equally, if not more important is also working to fix other areas outside of education, like regulating how much businesses can exploit us.
There are no quick or easy or even single answer here. Defiantly not just an out right ban with no other plans in place to actually fix the systemic issues at play.
Sociocultural theory and ecological systems micro and mesosystems paint a picture of how learning is not only done from us.
Family/Caregivers have the majority of the role to play in responsible usage of these devices as they are the one’s giving them to the children and enabling such behaviour in their lives.
I certainly don't think (generally, there are exceptions, one of which I will mention below) they should be used in class, but a cell phone call to us at lunch has saved my daughter from a couple of urgent and embarrassing situations she doesn't want others to know about. I would say that's useful. It also enables us to let her know basic things like I'll be late coming home from work, so she shouldn't let her anxieties play up when we're not there in time.
Now I said there were exceptions. My daughter has a fellow student who is diabetic and his phone monitors his insulin. He has it with him in class because of that. I would hope that any global ban on smartphones wouldn't include that kid's phone and the same for similar kids.
The second thing was my first thought. As an adult the idea of not having my phone causes extreme anxiety because it's needed for my medical devices. It'd be even worse for a teenager at school, especially if their insulin pump is only app controlled and they want to be able to eat lunch.
This is more on the parents not making use of built in controls. I have my niece's and nephew's phones set so they can only make calls, send texts, or use school related apps during school hours. Everything else is grayed out.