On Thursday, Kathy Hochul, the New York governor, announced plans to sponsor legislation that would ban smartphones in schools as part of her broader effort to protect children from technology’s negative effects. She intends to introduce the bill later this year so that it can be considered during New York’s next legislative session, which begins in January.
Hochul’s announcement should come as welcome news to anyone concerned about the effects of smartphones and social media on students’ attention spans, relationships, learning and mental health. However, given that it could be more than a year before the bill goes into effect – provided it’s passed to begin with – caregivers and school administrators may be wondering what they can do to shield their children from technology’s worst traits now.
Simply put: a lot! Here are some suggestions for parents and schools, based on my professional research – and my personal experience as a parent.
First, smartphones should not be allowed in the classroom, full stop. Distractions caused by notifications and surreptitious scrolling disrupt students’ ability to focus and to learn – not to mention their opportunities to socialize and build friendships with other students in real life. Banning smartphones in school is a commonsense step with proven positive effects.
In order to take the burden of enforcement off of teachers, schools that can afford to do so should consider investing in a solution such as Yondr pouches: small, locking bags (used by a growing number of schools, as well as numerous performers fed up with spectators’ glowing screens lighting up during their shows) that allow students to keep possession of their phones throughout the day, but prevent them from using them until the pouch is unlocked.
Schools that can’t afford this can improvise their own systems, such as creating “phone cubbies” in classrooms or simply requiring students, upon entering school, to turn off their phones completely and keep them in their locker or backpack.
Parents worried about reaching their children in an emergency should be given the school’s phone number and be reminded that in the case of a true emergency, such as an active shooter, it is better for students to be paying attention to their teacher than to be frantically making phone calls or sending texts – or inadvertently revealing their hiding places thanks to a sound or vibration from their phones.
On the home front, parents and caregivers should educate themselves and their children about the business motives of the companies that are behind many of our most time-sucking apps (spoiler alert: the more time we spend on them, the more money their creators make). Once you and your children fully understand how we’re being manipulated and taken advantage of – and learn about what the companies themselves know about their products’ negative effects – you may not want to spend so much time on your phones.
If your children use any internet-enabled electronic devices at home, take the time to establish family guidelines for technology use, and to adjust their parental control settings (particularly the “chat” features within multi-player video games, which can be used by predators for “sextortion”).
Also consider paying for an add-on parental control plan that has more robust features than those that are built-in to most phones, such as the ability to block specific apps, or set schedules for internet access. (Many cell service providers offer these plans; you can also use a third-party service such as Canopy or Bark.)
People whose children do not yet have smartphones or social media accounts should keep it that way for as long as possible. A recent report commissioned by France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, strongly recommends that children not have access to most social media platforms until at least 18, and that they not be allowed to have smartphones (ideally, I would argue, with a parental control plan installed that blocks access to social media platforms and inappropriate sites) until at least 13.
To make this easier – and to prevent your child from feeling left out when their peers get phones – consider joining forces with like-minded caregivers and pledging to delay your children’s access to smartphones and social media. In the United States, ScreenStrong, AnxiousGeneration.com and Wait Till 8th are good resources (though keep in mind that eighth grade is still too early for smartphones and social media); in the UK, the Smartphone-Free Childhood movement, which was only launched in February, is already tens of thousands of people strong.
Joining forces will also make it easier to brainstorm smartphone-free solutions to common challenges. For example, if you need a way to communicate with your younger children – say, to coordinate pickup from sports games – or want to give them a way to stay in touch with their peers, you could consider a flip phone, a smartwatch, a family “loaner” phone (ie a basic phone that you loan out as needed, and that doesn’t belong to anyone in particular) or a smartphone alternative.
And if you feel your resolve wavering, remember: when you hand your child a smartphone, you are giving them access to the entire internet – and you’re also giving the entire internet access to your child. Not ready for either of these things? Then say no.
If your child already has a smartphone and/or social media – or spends a lot of time on screens in general – and you’re now regretting the decision, don’t beat yourself up: just as it took years for the dangers of smoking to become evident, it’s taken time for us to begin to recognize the potential negative effects of social media and smartphones, both on children and adults. Instead of obsessing over decisions you made in the past, focus your energy on what to do next.
Keep in mind that not all screen time is detrimental, and it’s possible that your child already has healthy boundaries with their phone. But if you think that it is harming them, trust your instincts, and remember that it’s OK to admit that we adults made a mistake – and to make a course correction.
As their caregiver, you do have the authority to forbid them from being on social media, to install a parental control plan, or to take back their smartphone and replace it with a smartphone alternative. Note that this will be much easier if you can recruit another group of parents to join you.
Will you win a short-term popularity contest with your child if you do so? Probably not. But our job as caregivers is to educate and protect our children. And besides, chances are they didn’t pay for the phone – or its data plan.
Catherine Price is the writer of the Guardian’s “Reclaim Your Brain” email newsletter series. She’s also the founder of Screen/Life Balance and the author of How to Break Up With Your Phone and the How to Feel Alive Substack newsletter, for which she’s compiled a collection of resources about kids, smartphones and social media
