What happens when a school bans smartphones? A complete transformation
www.theguardian.com
Teachers say mobile phones make their lives a living hell – so one Massachusetts school barred them

What happens when a school bans smartphones? A complete transformation | US education | The Guardian::Teachers say mobile phones make their lives a living hell – so one Massachusetts school barred them

  • fosforus@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    0·
    8 months ago

    I watched the first generation that got personal unrestricted mobile phones for themselves. Somehow I thought it was a good idea at the time. It fucked them up mentally, and then Covid-19 came and doubled the effect.

    Now I think that a parent who gets their under 12 year old kid a smart phone should be treated roughly in the same way as if the parent gave the kid cocaine.

    • SmashingSquid@notyour.rodeoEnglish
      0·
      8 months ago

      We got an iPhone for my niece who is 8. It’s locked down so all she can do is text, call, and take pictures/video and she can’t contact anyone not in her contacts list. She has some games but can’t use them for more than an hour per day and they won’t open during school hours.

      A big issue is parents not bothering to learn how to use and set up parental controls.

      • Randomgal@lemmy.caEnglish
        0·
        8 months ago

        Controls like these don’t work if the kid is smart, determined or the parents are too tired or uninvolved. There’s more to the cellphone issue than the actual cellphone.

        • erwan@lemmy.mlEnglish
          0·
          8 months ago

          It doesn’t matter if the kid is smart and determined, parental controls can’t be circumvented.

          Unless the parent is stupid enough to leave their phones unlocked or lax enough to unblock the phone every time the kid asks for it.

    • Hexarei@programming.devEnglish
      0·
      8 months ago

      I lent my 8yo my old phone, heavily restricted and with Family Link installed; She’s only allowed 2 hours a day and isn’t allowed on stuff like YouTube. There are ways to do it responsibly.

      • fosforus@sopuli.xyzEnglish
        0·
        8 months ago

        There are a few things to consider.

        1. She’s just 8, so you have an easier time controlling what she does

        2. She might not be susceptible to these things

        3. You just might be a better parent for any arbitrary reason

        So as an anecdote your situation is valuable, but as a guideline to how the whole society should handle this problem possibly not so much.