JAMA Pediatrics recently published research stating that teens are spending an average of 1½ hours on their smartphones and, remarkably, 25% of teens are spending more than 2 hours on their phones, while in school. That’s almost a quarter of the school day.
Nineteen states have bans or restrictions on smartphone usage in schools to mitigate this growing problem. Georgia is not one of them.
When the CEO of Facebook and Instagram testified before a House Committee on regulating his social media companies regarding kids a year ago, a ranking member of the committee told him he had “blood on his hands” regarding the mental health maladies, suicides, self-harm and other ill-intended consequences for social media use in youth. Now Facebook and Instagram are scaling back online protections for kids even more.
I totally agree, the CEO does have “blood on his hands” for his social media platform’s responsibility in the fallout of youth mental health and online usage. But he’s certainly not the only one.
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
Who’s buying the smartphones and paying the bills? Who’s not proposing or passing legislation for the regulation of the big companies controlling these platforms for children? Who’s letting kids hold devices all day while in school?
As much as we’d like to pin blame on tech bros and capitalism, truth be told we all have blood on our hands: legislators, parents and even school systems.
The average age of getting a personal device in this country is 10, and for that parents should be held accountable. Surveys reveal parents’ intentions with technology are benevolent, explaining the desire for their kids to have access to safety and independence by allowing communication with them when they are apart.
However there is a great chasm between intention and result.
What started out as a quick tool to text Dad for a basketball practice pickup turned into 8½ hours of daily screen use, according to a recent study. Youth internet addiction is widespread, and we all have our eyes wide shut, it seems.
Aside from what kids access online, the problem that is as vexing is the social isolation that has ensued; eerily quiet hallways and silent lunches. These used to be punishments when kids were boisterous and engaging with each other, however now they’re the fallout of omnipresent earbuds and phones in hands.
More than 1-in-6 high school kids report being bullied this year through messaging apps and social media according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to the studies, the biggest bullies of our children are online, with about 37% of middle schools and 25% of high schools dealing with discipline problems from cyberbullying at least once a week.
These statistics reflect the struggles that adults can’t see or often even know about that occur online.
Schools are letting students use personal devices in class to listen to music, play games, even watch shows while they’re supposed to be learning crucial information — information that is likely combating an ever-growing deficit in math and reading skills. Who wants to do algebra when you can watch YouTube?
We’re expecting teachers to slay the dragon of online addiction with a butter knife.
Teachers’ hands have been tied by public school systems in their ability to restrict usage of devices in class for the sake of personal property rights and increasingly use them as “learning tools” despite the proven lack of efficacy. Schools are often too fearful of parental litigation to act responsibly in response to students’ personal devices.
Social media companies have consistently prioritized profit over safety of children. They knowingly market to children, profit from exploitation of children and even shifted algorithm and platform design to more directly engage and hook youth populations.
Through the ability for machine learning tools to maximize user engagement, individuals — especially fragile youth — have felt powerless to fight against putting the phone down.
Telling Jamari that he has the Schooltime app or Focus restrictions on his device during school hours is one baseline way to begin pulling in the reins.
We have to admit our own screen addiction before we can help Junior with his. I don’t know one mom or dad who thinks it is easy parenting in an age of online dependency.
The point is, we have to try. Throwing up our hands in regards to tech is no way to raise a generation.
Silicon Valley will not regulate itself for the health of our children above its profitability. The bottom line will rule the day for companies until the people demand justice. Just like the cigarette companies of old, it will take the democratic process of revealing undue harm to citizens and issue sweeping legislation for the wellness of our country’s children.
Putting pressure on local and state officials is more essential now than ever for a statewide K-12 school-based smartphone ban.
There is a bill in the Georgia Legislature, House Bill 340, which is a good starting point, but unfortunately it only addresses the issue through eighth grade, not high school. This is a glaring omission highlighted by the latest research.
Sadly, a bill with good intentions but no fangs is proven irrelevant if high school grades aren’t included.
Georgia can take the lead in the bipartisan effort to protect our children, not fall behind. We can ask: Where is the legislative action at the state and local level to fight for our children regarding personal device regulation in kindergarten through 12th grade in schools? What are you committed to doing this legislative session to address this K-12 problem in school systems statewide?
Our children’s mental health and education hang in the balance.
It’s time we turn from our wrongs of abandoning responsibility and civic duty to our children. There is blood on all our hands, and it’s time we own up and get to work.
Beth Collums is an Atlanta-based writer. With a professional background in child and family therapy, she often writes about mental health, relationships and education.
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