Can a Mobile-Free School Help Curb the Anxious Generation?

Original article from my Curiosity (Cu?ri?ous?IT) Blog: Can a Mobile-Free School Help Curb the Anxious Generation? More and other articles like this below can be found at https://www.curiousit.ca/

With my school going mobile-free, I'm really curious to see how this will unfold for our community. I'm interested in the changes we'll see in how people interact and the new possibilities this will open up for both students and staff.

Years back, I noticed how mobile phones were making it tough for young people to use technology wisely. This led me to draft a guide called "Growing (with) Phones and Mobile Teenagers." It was all about taking a step-by-step approach, where kids wouldn't get a fancy smartphone right away. Instead, they'd start with a basic phone and gradually earn their way up to a smartphone as they got older, showed maturity and control on using it wisely.

Recently, I read Jon Haidt's book, The Anxious Generation. It really validated and affirmed that what I'd been thinking all along, especially about the struggles young people have with social media and the distractions of smartphones. Each point he provided was support by a well establish body of research focusing on mental health, mobile phones, social media, and our yong people today.

Here are some of the big overlaps I saw:

• Delayed Gratification and Impulse Control: Haidt's research points to a connection between heavy phone use in young adults and a lack of impulse control. I'm on the same page, suggesting we ease kids into using mobile devices and make sure we teach them responsibility and set clear expectations. I also share his concern about the "great rewiring of childhood" and how it might be hurting kids' mental health.
• Parents Need to Be Involved: Just like Haidt, I believe parents need to be actively involved in their kids' digital lives. I've offered some practical tips, like watching content together, choosing apps carefully, and encouraging interactive things like video calls with family. It all ties in with Haidt's idea that parents need to play a bigger role in shaping their kids' online experiences.
• Too Much Screen Time is a Problem: My original article didn't specifically talk about mental illness, but it did focus on the downsides of too much screen time, like behavior problems. Haidt really drives home the point that mental illness has gotten worse as smartphones have become more common. This fits right in with his bigger argument about how the "great rewiring of childhood" is linked to the rise of anxiety and depression in young people.

Seeing these connections between what I've observed at school and what Haidt writes in his book really underlines how important it is for parents and educators to be more thoughtful and involved in how kids use their phones. If we delay giving them smartphones, set clear rules, and actively guide their online experiences, we can help protect them from the potential harm technology can cause.

The bottom line is that the digital age has changed everything about how kids grow up. As parents, we have to adjust how we parent to deal with the challenges and opportunities of this new world. If we're more mindful and informed about our kids' phone use, we can help them navigate the digital world in a way that's good for their mental and emotional health.

What Haidt Suggests About Age

Haidt doesn't give exact ages, but he's a big advocate for waiting as long as possible before giving kids smartphones and access to social media:

• No smartphones before high school: He thinks kids shouldn't have smartphones until they're in high school (around 14 years old).
• No social media before 16: He suggests the minimum age for social media should be 16.
• Start with basic phones: Before high school, kids should have basic phones or phones with parental controls.

His main message is that delaying smartphone access and social media use can help protect kids' mental and emotional well-being. Casual smartphone use has no place in schools. It's also key to think about each child's maturity level and make good choices as we learn more about how all this affects kids.