Gary Warren’s smartphone fact sheet for schools
In the Term 3 edition of The Point, IEU member, long-term teacher and writer Gary Warren wrote about how the sleep habits of adolescent students are being “severely compromised”, in part, by their addiction to smartphones.
Gary is on a working party at his school that is trying to resolve “this ever-growing problem”.
“Too many of our students are addicted to their devices and can’t self-regulate,” he told The Point.
“I am strongly advocating a system whereby students hand over their phones in at the beginning of the day where they are locked away and are collected at day’s end. This system is now in place at many schools around the world and has been extremely successful.”
The final edition of The Point contains a feature article on the proposed smartphone and social media bans, which will be linked here upon publication.
Gary compiled the following fact sheet on smartphone use in schools.
SMARTPHONE FACT SHEET
In recent years, there has been an enormous amount of debate and discussion regarding the use of smartphones by students of all ages in schools. While many people, including teachers, social psychologists, parents and students have weighed in on this very important issue, it is important to keep in focus what the reliable research and data is telling us.
Overwhelmingly, the research (based on meta data analysis) is telling us that allowing students to carry phones, and the social media apps these devices give them access to in a school setting, is inherently harmful on several levels.
As a result, all Australian State Governments have implemented ministerial orders placing blanket bans on students from having smartphones on their person while attending government schools.
The major issues with allowing students to carry phones on them in a school setting are:
Negative Impact on Academic Performance:
Excessive mobile phone use has been linked to detrimental effects on students' academic performance. Spending excessive time on social media platforms, playing games or engaging in non-educational activities on phones can lead to a decline in study time and a lack of engagement with academic materials which can ultimately result in lower grades, decreased motivation, and compromised learning outcomes.
Circumventing Firewalls:
Students who carry smartphones can use their devices to “hotspot” internet access thereby circumventing school firewalls, giving students access to inappropriate and banned websites while at school.
Physical Health Issues:
Excessive use of mobile phones can contribute to various physical health issues among students. Prolonged periods of sitting and poor posture while using phones can lead to musculoskeletal problems such as neck and back pain, text neck syndrome, and repetitive strain injuries. Additionally, excessive screen time can strain the eyes, leading to digital eye strain, dry eyes, and vision problems.
Mental Health Concerns:
Mobile phones can have a profound impact on students' mental health and well-being. Excessive use of social media platforms can contribute to feelings of anxiety, depression, loneliness, and low self-esteem through constant exposure to curated digital lives and the pressure to achieve social validation.
Moreover, excessive phone use can also disrupt face-to-face social interactions, leading to a sense of isolation and detachment from real-life relationships. Recent research has also shown that metrics such as self-harm and suicide in adolescents have drastically increased since 2015.
Reduced Face-to-Face Communication Skills:
The over-reliance on mobile phones for communication can hamper students' development of essential face-to-face communication skills. Excessive texting and online interactions may limit opportunities for practicing effective verbal and non-verbal communication, active listening, and the interpretation of social cues. This can hinder students' ability to form meaningful connections, engage in collaborative work, and navigate real-world social situations.
Cyberbullying and Online Safety:
Mobile phones provide students with continuous access to the digital world, which exposes them to the risks of cyberbullying, online harassment, and privacy breaches. The anonymity and distance provided by mobile phones can embolden individuals to engage in harmful behaviours, leading to emotional distress, reduced self-confidence, and compromised mental well-being.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Renowned social psychologist Professor Jonathon Haidt stresses that the only way to arrest these disturbing trends is to implement a number of policies:
1. Schools must be “phone free”. If students are to bring phones to school, they must be locked away for the entire day and given back at day’s end. It is pointless asking students to self-regulate by having them leave phones at home or putting them in their lockers… they simply won’t comply.
2. No phones before High School and no social media before age sixteen.
The following data has been collected from research studies conducted from around the world in developed countries and relates to the negative impact on adolescents from Smartphones and social media.
