Surprisingly little is known about the impact of banning smartphones in schools, says Sonia Livingstone, a professor at the London School of Economics who studies how digital technology affects young people. says. There is relatively little good research in this area, and the research that has been done often points in contradictory directions. Livingstone says there is enough evidence to suggest that preventing children from accessing mobile phones improves concentration, but banning phones also leads to less bullying and more play. It is said that it is much more difficult. “There’s just not enough research for that,” she says.
Livingstone says it’s very difficult to isolate how specific issues such as bullying, mental health, sleep, exercise, and concentration are affected by smartphones. She points out that the following points are lacking: mental health services for young people and Bad pay and conditions Another potential problem for teachers that is often overlooked is smartphone bans. Phones may be part of the problem, but they’re also seen as a one-size-fits-all solution, she says. “Those seem like things we can do something about,” she says. “And those seem like the most obvious new ones.”
The proposed new bill would also raise the age at which children can consent to allowing social media companies to use their dating site from 13 to 16. “If we can effectively create versions of these apps and smartphone versions for U16s, it makes it easier for them to clock out and engage in real-world activities,” McAllister said. today show. The UK has already passed legislation for 2023. Online Safety ACThe law is supposed to protect children from certain types of content, but most parts of the law have not yet gone into effect.
Professor at Bath Spa University, Unlocked: The real science of screen time. “We need to think about how we design it.” [digital technologies] We make it better and help people understand how to use it,” he says.
And getting there, Etchells says, means moving past simple narratives like the assumption that limiting screen time will lead to more outdoor play. He cited a 2011 South Korean law that prohibited children from playing online games from midnight until 6 a.m. Four years later, the ban has not resulted in any meaningful changes in internet use or usage. sleep time. This law was repealed in 2021.
“If you talk to mental health experts and researchers in this field, they’ll tell you there’s no single root cause of why things get worse or better,” Etchells says. Looking to smartphone limitations as the primary response to the problems young people face may not be the right answer, but the easy answer.
