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The Education Minister is proposing secondary schools ban the use of mobile phones by students during the school day.
Dr Keith Johnston, Assistant Professor, School of Education, Trinity College Dublin, said:
“The issue of mobile phones is certainly a challenge for schools, but the reality is that most schools have already addressed it via their own rules and policies which prohibit the use of mobile phones during the school day. There are many versions of this at play across schools: in some schools phones must be kept in the school bag or lockers or in designated phone pouches and students can only use their phones at the end of the school day.
I am not sure banning anything outright ‘works’ and whilst the potential for distraction and social isolation is too significant not to address, we must also recognise that technology generally including the mobile phone is part of our modern-day existence bringing with it both its pros and its cons. Schools should have some level of autonomy to decide what works best in their own particular situation or context and we should not lose sight of the opportunity to educate our students about responsible use of these devices.
One of the gaps in our curricula is some form of provision to address digital media literacy for all students at lower secondary level. In some regards it too simplistic just to ban the phone, this may address some of the challenges and on balance we should at a minimum limit use, but we still need to consider and find ways of educating students about the issues which its existence creates and to embed these within our curricula and our education systems generally. To neglect to do so is to do a disservice to our students who have in effect grown up surrounded by these devices and who require support in regulating their own use, in decision making in respect of accessing both appropriate and inappropriate content and in having an awareness of satisfactory and non-satisfactory behaviours online.”
Dr Marina Everri, Social Psychologist and Assistant Professor, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, said:
“Adults’ concerns for children’s safety and protection are legitimate: The need to regulate the access to digital devices is undeniable. However, from a psychosocial perspective and as outlined by research, a ‘banning approach’ to smartphones might prevent children from developing better digital skills.
Our recent report showed that the only way for children to develop better digital skills is to use digital devices and engage in online activities. In other words, the more children have the possibility to interact with digital devices and the Internet, the more they can become ‘digitally’ competent, namely develop technical and communication/interpersonal skills (e.g., how to open an account online, how post comments, how to block unwanted content or report/talk to someone about a negative experience happened online).
Also, from an education perspective, a punitive approach based on rigid rules, such as banning or confiscate phones, can trigger the circumvention of the rules and foster children’s engagement in ‘clandestine’ activities, such as using older children’s phone, stealing parents’ phones, and, ultimately, exacerbate parent-child conflict. All this can be detrimental to children’s safety and protection.
Therefore, centring the current debate on banning the access to smartphones for safety and protection concerns might not allow children to learn, develop better skills, and eventually use technologies for good (entertainment, study, creative activities, socialising). While acknowledging the imperative need for regulations, we suggest that a better way to look at this phenomenon is to focus on the type of experience that children have online, while providing them with information about the different types of digital technologies from an early age. In the context of primary schools, children can be guided to explore smartphones or any other device gradually. For instance, they can be instructed on understanding what smartphones are, how they work, what they can find once they approach the device, and what can happen when using different functions. We should be mindful that children see us using smartphones constantly, and their curiosity for those devices start from a very early age.
The risk of putting too much attention on technologies and ‘blaming’ them for children’s learning problems is misleading: In doing so, little attention is paid to other substantial dimensions of children’s development: social emotional well-being, parent-child and peer relationships, and specific learning needs. Technology amplifies who we are, our ways of being, and what we do in the ‘physical world’: therefore what happens in the physical world is amplified in the virtual world. If we focus only on the digital tool (the phone) we lose the broader picture, namely the child and the different physical contexts they inhabit. Families and schools continue to have a core role in children’s development: if schools do not offer opportunities to children to ‘educate’ them to the use of technologies, who will do that? Parents can help and can collaborate with schools, but often parents seek advice from teachers.
I concur with research that demonstrated that smartphones interfere with children’s attention; but this also happens for adults. Also, when interpreting research results it is important to contextualise them: Research studies tell us that children that have problems in regulating the use of smartphones also have problems with attention and focus when reading a book. So, again, is smartphone the problem?
I am also a psychotherapist and clinical supervisor in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, and what I have observed over the years is that issues related to smartphone use and Internet risks are connected with children’s and adolescents’ individual and relational problems from a young age. For some children with psychological problems smartphones and the Internet can become a resource to connect with peers and families when hospitalised for instance. Different apps have also been developed to support children and adolescents’ mental health.
Lastly, in terms of a ‘solution to the problem’ this is what we indicated in our report: Families and schools should continue to work together to find the best strategies to foster children’s/ pupils’ skills development while regulating digital technology use through information, communication, and monitoring. However, this should be done considering children’s perspectives and rights to benefit from the opportunities offered by technologies. We encourage families and schools to develop initiatives around technologies in which children are also involved (not only parents’ meetings, as often happens). Children are the primary stakeholders, and they have a lot to say about digital technologies and their experiences when opportunities to make their voices heard are offered.
More specifically in secondary schools, adolescents could be actively involved in talking about their experiences with smartphones, and what could be the solution to deal with these ‘distractors’. Not all adolescents are distracted by phones, so why not ask those who know how to deal with smartphones what ‘strategies’ they have developed to avoid being distracted. Put it very simply, when adults ask the right question and listen (more importantly) to what teenagers have to say they might be surprised by the answers (and sometimes solutions) they can get from them.”
Declared interests:
Keith Johnston: None declared.
Marina Everri: “The recent research report I mentioned was carried out in collaboration with Cybersafekids and funded by IRC.”