Why Schools Are Racing to Ban Student Phones
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/11/technology/school-phone-bans-indiana-louisiana.html
https://archive.ph/KSXxg
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Here in Europe many schools are doing this too. As a father of an (almost) teenger, I’m they are.
Got two teenagers. I’d outlaw smart phones for anyone under 18 if it was up to me. Bring the flame!
I strongly disagree, this should be a decision for parents to make, no need to get the law involved. However, schools can and should have a policy that phones need to be off (or at least silenced, no vibrate) during class, and they can check it if excused to go to the restroom or something. But I would never agree to a law banning access to phones for minors, that’s a violation of parental discretion.
We ban gambling, cigarettes, alcohol, media for children, because of harms we understand that they inflict on children. Should these be parental discretions too?
But your kids are being addicted!!! They’re literally zombies!!! They need to be saved by the state!!! \s
We got our oldest a smart phone a few years ago. Based on that experience, our younger two can buy their own smartphones when they’re adults because we’ve decided we’re not going to repeat that mistake.
Sort of the same here. Our 17 and 14 year olds were the last in their classes to get one and I still felt it was too early.
And for those without kids, here’s my actual story about what smart phones do to children: I was recently visiting an enormous aquarium abroad; just tank after tank of impressive displays.
As we arrived we realised, ok wow, shark feeding is literally now, let’s go watch it. It had obviously drawn an enormous crowd of families but eventually we got ourselves into a position where we could see. And then my wife tapped my shoulder and pointed and I noticed what she had noticed: At prime viewing position, on these pedestal sort of things, were sitting a row of teenagers, all of them, to the very last boy and girl, hunched over and staring at their smartphones.
LITERAL SHARKS WERE BEING HAND FED RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM and they couldn’t give a shit because PHONES!!!