I recommend this article by Naomi Buck in the Globe and Mail: Cellphones have taken over our classrooms , and it’s been a disaster. Now that we know the effect screens have on our children, we need a new approach.
The author’s kids are now entering Grade 8 and 10 at Toronto schools. They don’t deny that they’re on their phones in class: it’s normal they say.
The article isn’t just about cellphones. The education system has been warming up to technology in the classroom for a good decade. The COVID 19 pandemic opened the floodgates. A variety of opinions and situations from studies in the UK, Canada, USA and Europe are addressed.
As cellphone use has risen so too have levels of teen depression, anxiety and suicidality. Psychiatrists caution that such trends are never monocausal, but most agree that cell phones – and social media – are playing a role. How do schools cope? The impact is described in the article.
