Yondr pouches only derisk schools they don't solve the issue of kids & social media

My son's school recently spent a load of money on YONDR pouches. On the surface this is good, no smart phone access (read distractions) when kids should be learning is impossible to argue with.

Do kids perform better without phones as a distraction? Errrrr yes. In his article for Scientific American Chris Stokel-Walker does reasonable job of presenting the pros and cons, the answer can only be yes kids perform better when listening to the teacher not looking at their phones ! Anything else is just non-sensical.

No phone = less bullying. If keyboard warriors are killed off during the school day it also meaning bullying will have to be done the old fashioned way! Noone is as brave face to face as they are behind a screen and it removes the low hanging fruit of anonymous snapchat bullying.

彭博资讯 reported on this today and highlights the way only the US - California in particular is dealing with this issue. You can read the article here. The UK has issued guidlines rather than passed laws - preferrable in my opinion.

However, YONDR only derisks schools. It doesn't help us see an acceptable path to a limitation on social media for kids. Suicides are up massively since the advent of social media as we all know and the backlash is only just beginning.

Phone companies should be producing non-smart phones to cater to this demand, spending on children's safety is a high priority for almost all families. Motorola snap phone anyone ?

The only way to get any kind of effective control on this is through co-ordination with other parents. If your kid is the only one who doesn't have a smartphone you are doomed. Coordinate with other like minded parents and you'll have success. Your kids are only as good as the kids they go to school with, we all know people who've reported dud year groups at what should be on paper amazing schools. This is hard to do but is a much preferred option to allowing government control over yet another facet of our lives.