A local child development expert hopes the banning of mobile phones from state schools will spark a broader discussion around screen time.
University of the Sunshine Coast Associate Professor of Education Michael Nagel said the decision by the Queensland Government was a move in the right direction.
“It’s about time,” he said, before recommending more could be done.
“I hope this might become part of a broader discussion around overall screen time in schools.”Dr Nagel, an internationally acclaimed author, said the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) had documented a link between screens and internet use and academic outcomes.
“It may surprise many to know that the countries spending less time on screens and online get better academic outcomes in international testing,” he said via a UniSC media release. “There is also a growing body of evidence showing that screen time is negatively impacting on many aspects of child and adolescent development and may even be altering the developing brain in ways that we do not yet understand.“I suggest that screen time in schools needs to be part of a community-negotiated approach to learning and living.”
Dr Nagel has actively supported schools that banned phones and promoted such action for years.“There isn’t any educative reason to have a phone at school – and many reasons not to,” he said.“First, they are a major distraction and far too difficult for teachers to manage during the day-to-day rigour of school endeavour. “Second, phones are major tools for bullies. Cyber-bullying is a huge challenge and eliminating the opportunity to bully with a phone during the school day is a positive.“Smartphones are also perfect tools for ‘relational aggression’ or what I refer to as ‘aggression in pink’, whereby girls can engage in name-calling, gossip, rumour-spreading, shaming, taunting and even ignoring from a distance. It is nothing new but phones have added a new dimension.“Finally, and perhaps most importantly, banning phones means students will engage in real time with one another more regularly.
“The correlation between phone use and diminishing social skills in children and teens is prolific. The more a young person spends time on a phone, the less time they spend honing emotional and relational skill sets.“Some might think phones are necessary for child safety but even that is highly debatable, given data suggesting that children are safer than any previous generation.“It can be comforting to parents knowing their children have a mechanism for contacting them, but that is only necessary before and after school.“Parents and students should remember that schools have admin offices and those offices have phones.”
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