Many school districts are re-evaluating their technology policies, particularly with the increasing number of kids with cell phones.
Common Sense Media found that by age 8, one in four kids has a mobile device, and 95% of teenagers have access to a smartphone, according to Pew Research.
Rep. Chris Deluzio of Fox Chapel, a Democrat representing District 17, cares about the issue of kids and phones. He has four kids of his own and is a member of the Dads Caucus in the House of Representatives.
“We’ve gotten briefings from a lot of experts in the field about the risks of social media and smartphones and tablet addiction, what it’s doing to classrooms and kids, and what policymakers should be doing to make our classrooms better for learning, better for kids, better for teachers.”
Congressman Deluzio sent letters to all 59 school districts in the area he represents, asking if they have a smartphone ban or are developing one. He cites a “growing body of evidence that shows smartphone use in school is detrimental to the learning and focus of our children.”
“My hope is maybe districts get this letter, see some of your reporting and others, and think, ‘We should be thinking long and hard about getting these smartphones out of our classrooms.’ I want to get that conversation going,” Rep. Deluzio said.
Seventy-two percent of high school teachers say phone distraction is a problem. In March, a coalition of more than 75 groups and child experts signed a letter calling on all schools to implement a phone-free policy, including two of the largest teachers’ unions with almost five million members combined.
Half of the states have laws or policies banning or limiting smartphones in classrooms. Pennsylvania is not one of them.
In April, a Virginia congressman introduced a bill banning phones in schools nationally.
Kids in the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania’s “Birdz Camp” don’t use their phones much when they’re at Buffalo Creek Nature Park in Sarver. Instead, they’re immersed in the wildlife around them.
KDKA-TV asked them what they think about phones in schools, and they have mixed opinions, particularly for middle and high school.
“It depends, like if you’re playing on it or what you’re using it for. For example, I think texting your parents or others about important stuff would be useful. Playing games or stuff that you pretty much do at home wouldn’t be allowed,” 11-year-old Blake Beal said.
“When you start seeing really, really weird stuff on there, or you’re getting distracted by it, you’re not able to learn. Yeah, that’s just not good,” 13-year-old Nicola Yanity said.
KDKA-TV’s Kristine Sorensen asked 15-year-old Crow Perine, “What do you think it would be like if there were no phones at your high school?”
“I feel like it would be different. There wouldn’t be a lot of distractions. I feel like there would be a lot more learning going on,” she replied.
Sorensen asked, “What about in between classes? Do you think there’d be more conversations?”
“Yes, I definitely think there would be,” Perine said. “I feel like they wouldn’t be like texting or just scrolling on their phone, they’d actually be talking to other people.”
Parents are grateful for camps like the ones the Audubon Society offers to get kids off phones and embrace nature, because it can be a struggle at home.
Janet Brown of Sarver said her kids “are on [phones] all the time, and I’m trying to get them off of it. It’s tough. I mean, they just love the games and the videos and everything.”
She thinks smartphones are addictive.
“Yeah, honestly, it stinks,” she says. “I wish that they had the childhood I had without technology, because we were outside all the time. It was amazing.”
Congressman Deluzio says it’s unfair to expect kids to resist the urge to use the phone when the phones are designed to keep you on.
“You’re putting teachers in an impossible position, and you’re putting kids in an impossible position because we know how disruptive and addicting the devices can be when they’re trying to learn.”
Congressman Deluzio said he read “The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt, which calls on policymakers to protect kids from the harms of smartphones.
More about school phone policies, including a story on the Sto-Rox School District, which went phone-free, can be found here.
More screen-free activities for kids can be found here.
