To think student mobiles shouldn't be allowed in schools.

[Trebla]

I'm looking for perspectives here. Knowing how addictive and alluring screens can be, how they can change behaviour, reduce focus and create distraction away from real human connection with the people right next to you. Am I being unreasonable to be surprised that its is only just becoming a thing that phones are being banned in schools? AIBU to be surprised they were ever allowed in the first place. I'm not anti tech or screens for educational purposes, but adolescents are notorious for pushing boundaries and not being able to regulate their behaviour consistently (and most adults) that I feel it's highly appropriate that this boundary is set on their behalf to facilitate prescence, social connection and learning in school. Am I missing something?

No, which is why I said schools can ban them from being used in school hours (which I totally agree with) but what's wrong with having it switched off in the bottom of your bag?

They are used in lessons every so often. They are only supposed to be out in lessons with permission the children seem to get used to the rules fairly fast.

I'm not so sure it's a terrible thing in breaks and lunchtimes - if they can't find their friends they can get their phones out instead of feeling like an awkward Billy no mates - I know quieter DS has then found it starts conversations with people he sees around but perhaps hasn’t spoken to much – they ask what he doing or start conversation if he doing similar things to them.

It’s certainly helpful as a parent to know if groups are cancelled or they are on – or so my two know if they should wait for each other after school to walk back.

but what's wrong with having it switched off in the bottom of your bag
Nothing

if they can't find their friends they can get their phones out instead of feeling like an awkward Billy no mates
But isnt this is a normal human experience that we need to learn to cope with, not avoid the painful feelings of? If we don't learn to tolerate painful experiences and minor social discomfort we don't learn about our own resilience.

These days homework is on an Ap with access for M&D, food payment is electronic with top up via an Ap, homeworks include research as does class work - done via google and other websites. It is a tool - misuse should be punished but relevant application - photos of notes and projects, checking homeworks, putting reminders in etc great. Playing loud music, bullying and inappropriate social media input/output obv not. We need to teach kids appropriate use - banning things never works

Our secondary school takes the phones in the mornings. They're put into boxes for each class and kept with the secretary. If a child doesn't have a phone, the parent must sign a note saying so.

Obviously there are kids who wont hand theirs over, so if they're caught with it, its confiscated till Friday and you have to pay a fine of 10 euro, which goes to a local charity at the end of the term.

There have been parents complaining about the confiscation, but it's in the rules and regulations of the school and it's also explained verbally at the first year meetings.

Lots of teachers at ds's secondary school incorporate using phones in lessons but if they are seen other than that they are taken away and a parent has to collect it at the end of the day. Seems to work well.

We need to teach kids appropriate use - banning things never works
Yep I agree with this actually. If appropriate use includes phone free times throughout the day. Maybe ban is too harsh a word. I dont agree with apps for stuff in school though. If schools want kids to use tech they need to provide it and regulate it.

@Aragog - These are some of the recent publications I found. But as I said, I'd be interested to see evidence to the contrary.

This report shows 24% of young people surveyed felt social media usage (I know phones are more than sm) had mainly negative effects, while 31% felt they were mainly positive, and 45% were neutral.

This paper found depression and anxiety severity were consistently related to problem smartphone use and that stress was somewhat consistently related to problematic smartphone use. This paper had similar findings.

This paper talks about technoference, which is the interference of technology in personal interactions. They found participants who rated more technoference in their relationships also reported more conflict over technology use, lower relationship satisfaction, more depressive symptoms, and lower life satisfaction.

@Trebla - Also tv as a kid finished and we had 3/4 channels. There was a natural break point when the cartoons finished. Not the continual swiping for contact stimulation.*

3/4 channels? You don't know you were born. We only had one channel, until I was mid-teens when a second channel was launched. TV started at about 5 in the evening and ended at 11pm. When I was a young child, there was only one children's programme on a week (wanderly wagon for the other old, Irish on here), although I do have vague memories of watching sesame street too but that may have been when my younger sister was at that age.

At my DSs school they have to hand them in at registration and collect them at afternoon registration. They get a detention if caught with them.

@glitterfisher

This makes sense.

Trebla- I think so, it means they can contact you straight after school if need be and have phone on them if travelling alone. Only think is that in a big school I imagine this is difficult. There is it 12 per class (3-4 classes a year) so they fit in a small tray per class in a unit in reception. With some schools having 1000 pupils at least I am not sure how this would work logistically but I'm sure there is a way.

Banning phones is fine, if school.passes messages on, ours is terrible for not going this.

But isnt this is a normal human experience that we need to learn to cope with, not avoid the painful feelings of? If we don't learn to tolerate painful experiences and minor social discomfort we don't learn about our own resilience

I was this teenager at school - I was always put in classes away from friends I didn’t learn resilience - I learnt to hide out in loos or library and if I couldn’t find my friends to eat with skip lunch.

Mine sit out in open with phones and start conversations about shared interests with new people– or hang around happily till friends do turn up.

Though my DH, completely different school , used to manage to do this with his hobby– sitting there making things often prompted people to start conversations or make him look happy to be waiting by himself. In fact DD1 does something similar with note book now - though she did at one time use phone to write stories till app kept crashing.

So if their school did bring in a phone ban they might well do similar thing with different tools.

I also had a tech free childhood and spent time with my peers. - whilst a factual comment its irrelevant as time moves on. You for example had television, your parents probably complained about that sort of screen time; your grand parents had radio and so forth ...technology evolves. so to blanket statement '(sic) I grew up without one so no one needs one, is really rather narrow minded.

I would imagine many people here grew up without central heating or an inside bathroom but they don't bang on and on that being warm and clean aren't needed

You're missing the point. The technology we had as kids didn't impact social relationships, was not pervasive and did not give (example) kids unfettered access to pornography.

*I also had a tech free childhood and spent time with my peers. - whilst a factual comment its irrelevant as time moves on. You for example had television, your parents probably complained about that sort of screen time; your grand parents had radio and so forth ...technology evolves. so to blanket statement '(sic) I grew up without one so no one needs one, is really rather narrow minded.

I would imagine many people here grew up without central heating or an inside bathroom but they don't bang on and on that being warm and clean aren't needed*

You're missing the point. The technology we had as kids didn't impact social relationships, was not pervasive and did not give (example) kids unfettered access to pornography.

I dont agree with apps for stuff in school though

That boat has long since sailed. Our son's school use the "show my homework", each child has a school email address to which teachers send messages, homework attachments, lesson plans for those off sick or on school trips, etc., subscriptions to online text books, and daily use external websites for online quizzes, etc. They often use their phones to take screen shots of the white board and even to take live videos of science experiments etc. For GCSE years, it's compulsory for them to take in their own device, either a tablet or laptop so that they can collaborate in class in group projects, complete online worksheets, research the internet, etc. The genie is long out of the bottle and there's no way the cork is being put back any time soon. The internet, apps, smart phones, etc are here to stay in the classroom. It's up to schools/teachers to police their use. Banning them is an echo of the Soviet mentality.

and did not give (example) kids unfettered access to pornography.

You do realise that pornography in paper form was widely available at secondary schools in the 1970's don't you? Not just soft-core either - some of it was every bit as bad as readily found on today's internet.

I think the bigger issue is people not teaching/enforcing proper rules and manners on their children with their phones.

We had a party and sleepover for a birthday not so long ago and one child didn't stay over because we don't allow mobiles in bedrooms. All the phones were in the kitchen, accessible at any time, but the idea of not having her phone in her hand meant she left at midnight at the end of the party.

One of my kids has a friend who doesn't come for dinner as we have a "weird" rule about no mobiles on the table.

One of mine and two friends broke the school mobile rules. Two of us took their phones off them for a week. The other just shrugged and said "that's just teens, they're always on their phones now".

The actual phone isn't the problem. It's just the same as any distraction that kids have - be in the game in the bottom of Kickers shoes, fidget spinners or whatever. It's the use of them, and the lack of boundaries given that is the problem.

And for schools, the lack of back up they are given over them.

Rubytinsleslippers
Our high school has a blocker. No phones work inside but can be used in car park.

If you are in the UK phone signal blockers are illegal.

My son uses his phone as part of his diabetes care - he has a sensor which sends his blood sugar readings to the phone and it alarms if he is having issues (not only for him, but my phone will alarm too). Vital, life saving equipment. I am horrified to hear that some schools have phone blockers - would cause problems for us.

@BoneyBackJefferson am in Scotland and mobiles don't work in the 4 newly built high schools in my local authority. They have some kind of blocker within the buildings but they work in the carparks. Very rural area too, as concerns were raised by parents regarding buses etc but block was approved.

Yep private school in London has the blocker. I never knew it was illegal. Works in the car park.

Eurgh when I'm on bus duty at the end of the day the first thing they do is get out their phones, make no attempt to talk to the friends they're sat next to. Just glued to the screens