Many places are limiting childrens' exposure to the Internet and removing smartphones from the school classroom. In one school in Wales, though, they're encouraging it. Official guidance is that mobile phones are "used effectively to support learning" and the BBC reports on an 11-year-old girl unable to participate in a lesson because she did not have a smartphone.
The school said it had an "acceptable use" policy for phones, which it regularly reviewed, but wanted children to be prepared for the future.
Ms Lewis said she began to feel "pressure" on parents to buy smartphones as her daughter left primary school, but decided not to over fears about how it might affect Ava's mental health.
"In Year 6 I'd say every single kid in her class had a smartphone except for her," said the charity worker. "It was so ingrained, it's like 'buy a school uniform, buy some shoes, buy a smartphone'."
The first impulse might be to think of the usual smartphone horrors—the rot of modern media and social networking platforms—but we can assume the school here is not having them do that in class. It's having them search for information and use technology in bona fide educational ways. The problem is the blithe, virtually mandatory consumption of products likely to be harmful outside of that educational context. Today we'll be showing you how to use whisky to clean old coins. Bring a liter and take home whatever you don't use in class.
Another school in nearby Cardiff, Wales, banned phones outright and reports 75% fewer fistfights—a similar outcome to those observed in the U.S. New York state is getting rid of them too.
Previously:
• How to Raise Kids Who Aren't Assholes
• Social Media needs warning labels, contributing to teenage mental health crisis says US Surgeon General
• DeSantis signs law banning kids from social media in Florida
• Influencer parents are exploiting their children for fame and money: It's time to enforce The Coogan Act
