At the risk of sounding like an old fogey (which I am) I'm so glad we grew up without mobile phones. In fact, they only really came in my last years of employment. Now I wouldn't do without one, just for the bus app!
It's something that's already in place in a lot of schools actually, and has been for quite some time. Heck I am in uni now and even I had to lock up my phone in a locked box everyday when I was in "folkeskolen" (school years 1 through 10) only getting it back at the end of the day.
While I understand the good intentions behind this, and I have no doubt that social media has some (many, even) negative effects on a young psyche, as someone who only really had a place to be my authentic self online during my teenage (and tween) years, I cant say I support this
From my point of view, this has a disproportionate negative impact on children with mental health issues(they can be worsened by social media, but I found a lot of support out there too) or belonging to a minority, be it LGBTIQ+, ethnic, or otherwise, as well as kids in neglective/abusive households
Even in school, having a phone allowed me to read books (specifically manga, which was largely what kept me reading back then) that I could not afford nor access otherwise. I also cant understate how much listening to music helped me focus or keep calm during certain lessons.
I know my experience isnt universal, but its not exactly unique either, and I can tell you with confidence that my time in school and even my general level of education would have been much worse had we not been allowed to have phones in school
We all should be doing this. Great moment as well to start weaning ourselves off of Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok and whatnot. They are not disruptive but disturbing services and I blame them for the new era of fascism we're witnessing right now.
We banned a bit ago in NSW schools, and the entire culture has improved. Less youth depression, more school attendance not less (!!) and less kids crying in the schoolyard.
It has to be accompanied with genuine positive alternatives for playtime and freetime, but it does work.
Comments
It works.
We banned a bit ago in NSW schools, and the entire culture has improved. Less youth depression, more school attendance not less (!!) and less kids crying in the schoolyard.
It has to be accompanied with genuine positive alternatives for playtime and freetime, but it does work.