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Unesco calls for global ban on smartphones in schools

theguardian.com

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Re: Unesco calls for global ban on smartphones in schools

#141

Post by BeetleB »

dotnet00 wrote: post #50

Going against HN's usual anti-smartphone thing, I think this is incredibly dumb. Luckily no one really cares much about what UNESCO calls for. Outright bans on smartphones in schools are no different from the video game, TV screen time, "kids will only play games on computers" and other related superstitions that were in vogue back in the early 2000s. All they did was make parents feel validated (without having to pu…

I think the problem is more about social media than smartphones.

A recent study did a survey[1] of parents who had allowed their teenage kids to use social media. The results were pretty significant. Every parent in the survey said it was a big mistake in retrospect. Lots of problems, from addiction to depression.

[1] I don't recall what the N was.

Re: Unesco calls for global ban on smartphones in schools

#142

Post by wnolens »

NikolaNovak wrote: post #34
Beldur wrote: post #8

Not sure about you guys, but I plan to not give my kids a phone until they reach at least the age of 14 (7 and 3 atm) Is this realistic? Any experiences?

Depends on your goals. If your goal is for your kids to not have access to smartphone apps, dangers and distractions, I fear it'll fail spectacularly. If your goal is to build self reliance and problem solving skills, you may succeed in unintended ways. I was born in 1979. I touched my first computer probably at age 6. I programmed in GWbasic when I was 10 or so, started turbo Pascal and oracle db lessons when I was…

> My 12 year old niece who is like the most innocent person I know taught me more about dark Web than I knew.

That is hilarious.

I agree with you. I feel about as clever now as I was at 13. Might have been even more so then, just with more facts and experience to make up for it now.

My dad (an IT guy) tried but couldn't keep me from accessing the internet while he was at work. I spent entire summers indoors. Which was terrible for my social life, but I was a damn good video gamer and eventually video game hacker. He had to disconnect and take the modem with him, which he did for two weeks once as punishment for viewing porn. So I called up my friend and went to play video games in his basement. It was a lot of fun actually. I learned about the value of socialization and we're still best friends to this day.

Re: Unesco calls for global ban on smartphones in schools

#143

Post by bamfly »

Retric wrote: post #78
falcolas wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> playing video games in the middle of class. Laughs in GameBoy. Seriously, you have to be elder gen x or older to exist in a time where handheld consoles of some flavor were not available. And there’s always been other forms of entertainment, be it passing notes, talking, or daydreaming.

I saw plenty of game boys confiscated. Cellphones are in a strange place because they have actual utility, while also letting people play games.

Teachers want to treat cell phones like gameboys, but parents won't let them. They throw an absolute fit.

Hell, parents call their kids in class just to chat.

Re: Unesco calls for global ban on smartphones in schools

#144

Post by cubefox »

There is a massive increase in teen depression since around 2012:

https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/teen-d...

This is totally unprecedented. It is likely that the addictive quality of smartphones and social media are the cause. They are replacing physical contacts with virtual ones. There is a serious argument to be made to outright ban teenagers from owning smartphones until the age of 16, similar to laws on smoking and alcohol.

Re: Unesco calls for global ban on smartphones in schools

#145

Post by adhesive_wombat »

bgribble wrote: post #42

My kid just graduated from a NYC high school that had a complete ban on phones in school. The kids checked in their phones at the front desk on the way in and got them back when leaving. It was by no means watertight -- many (most?) kids had a "burner" phone that was dead or broken or whatever that they turned in (because nobody would believe a highschooler who said they didn't have their phone with them lol) and the…

For an emergency lifeline phone, a non-smartphone would be more robust, be far cheaper and have longer battery life.

Re: Unesco calls for global ban on smartphones in schools

#146

Post by mtalantikite »

verve_rat wrote: post #64
bgribble wrote: post #42

My kid just graduated from a NYC high school that had a complete ban on phones in school. The kids checked in their phones at the front desk on the way in and got them back when leaving. It was by no means watertight -- many (most?) kids had a "burner" phone that was dead or broken or whatever that they turned in (because nobody would believe a highschooler who said they didn't have their phone with them lol) and the…

Did 12 year olds take the subway to school 20, 30 years ago? (Genuinely asking, never lived in a place with a subway, but took the bus all the time at that age.)

Of course, all the time. I didn't grow up in NYC, but all my friends that went to school here took the subway or bus to middle or high school on their own. I've been in the city for a decent amount of time now (16-ish years) and I've always seen lots of young kids on public transit after school lets out.

I grew up just outside of Boston and my parents let me take the commuter rail to north station and the T over to Cambridge with friends as an early teenager. It never felt like a big deal, you just learned to read a subway map and a train time table. If you got lost you asked for directions.

Re: Unesco calls for global ban on smartphones in schools

#147

Post by chongli »

nordsieck wrote: post #86
falcolas wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> playing video games in the middle of class. Laughs in GameBoy. Seriously, you have to be elder gen x or older to exist in a time where handheld consoles of some flavor were not available. And there’s always been other forms of entertainment, be it passing notes, talking, or daydreaming.

> Laughs in GameBoy. Gameboys just weren't very common. I grew up in a pretty well off area, and I only knew a couple of people with them. Whereas, I wouldn't be surprised if more than 90% of teens have smart phones.

Nintendo sold 118 million Game Boys. Sure, not even close to the smart phone market, but not exactly rare birds.

Re: Unesco calls for global ban on smartphones in schools

#148

Post by greatwave1 »

carlosjobim wrote: post #35
DavidPeiffer wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have had coworkers who wanted to stick with a dumb phone. It sounds great to give junior a dumb phone until they're "old enough", but not much communication happens via sms. It's all done in other apps. Your kids will be excluded from a lot of conversations and events. They will feel ostricized socially and will inevitably be frustrated at you because of it. Having no phone versus a dumb phone would make the resent…

> Your kids will be excluded from a lot of conversations and events. Raising your children is the most important thing anybody does in their life. It's not something you do alone, but there is a hierarchy on who should have the most say in raising your children. The hierarchy is something like this: 1. The parents 2. Close family 3. Other parents in the community (if you have such community) 4. Close friends of the p…

Where does the child fall on this hierarchy... do they get any input in what technology they derive value/enjoyment from, or is that entirely dictated by adults in their community who grew up 20+ years ago?

Re: Unesco calls for global ban on smartphones in schools

#149

Post by dotnet00 »

erfgh wrote: post #85
dotnet00 wrote: post #50

Going against HN's usual anti-smartphone thing, I think this is incredibly dumb. Luckily no one really cares much about what UNESCO calls for. Outright bans on smartphones in schools are no different from the video game, TV screen time, "kids will only play games on computers" and other related superstitions that were in vogue back in the early 2000s. All they did was make parents feel validated (without having to pu…

What are you talking about? When was it that kids brought TVs to school? Also, when I grew up every kid (well, every boy) had at least one video game console at home but I don't remember anyone ever bringing a console to school. They didn't because it would get confiscated immediately.

The excuse for having parents place absurd limits on screen time and video games (at home) was the same as with smartphones in schools is now, that they're going to distract kids in school.

With TV and video games, the fear being pushed was that kids would talk about them in school instead of about studying and that they would be distracted by thinking about watching TV or playing games instead of paying attention to class.

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