Unesco calls for global ban on smartphones in schools • Hacker News Board

Re: Unesco calls for global ban on smartphones in schools

#81

Post by owisd » Wed, Jul 26, 2023, 1:48 PM UTC

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…

Reads like you’re extrapolating your own experiences, if I do the same you get the opposite answer, my school in the early 2000s had computer rooms you were free to use for coding or other projects at lunchtime. It’s not either/or. A school can provide smart devices for use on school premises locked down with appropriate apps. Your parents were coming from a position of ignorance whereas now parents have first hand experience of the negative effects of smart phone use.

Re: Unesco calls for global ban on smartphones in schools

#82

Post by Izkata » Wed, Jul 26, 2023, 1:49 PM UTC

falcolas wrote: post #63

brigadier132 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Outright bans on smartphones in schools are no different from the video game, TV screen time Back then kids were not watching tv or playing video games in the middle of class. I remember when I was in school people were texting on their flip phones, I can't imagine the extent of distractions in school today. I used to pay attention in class only because there was nothing more entertaining to do. If I had a phone an…

> 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.

My thing was doodling in the notebook. In addition to abstract designs I came up with several characters, drew single-pane comics of them interacting with each other, and so on.

Gameboy was risky in class (never saw anyone do that), but several of us did bring our NDS to assemblies and used the wireless chat feature.

Re: Unesco calls for global ban on smartphones in schools

#83

Post by obscurette » Wed, Jul 26, 2023, 1:49 PM UTC

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.)

I can't tell about NYC, but they certainly did in Europe and still do. It's probably not too common though, most of kids have school close to their home.

Re: Unesco calls for global ban on smartphones in schools

#84

Post by inconceivable » Wed, Jul 26, 2023, 1:50 PM UTC

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…

yeah, the irony now is my parents are glued to their phones. or at least were until recently. i think they have made a conscious effort to put them down.

i think no outright ban in classrooms will ever exist in the US because a large % of parents will insist that their child have uninterrupted access to their phones for all sorts of valid reasons.

Re: Unesco calls for global ban on smartphones in schools

#85

Post by erfgh » Wed, Jul 26, 2023, 1:50 PM UTC

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.

Re: Unesco calls for global ban on smartphones in schools

#86

Post by nordsieck » Wed, Jul 26, 2023, 1:50 PM UTC

falcolas wrote: post #63

brigadier132 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Outright bans on smartphones in schools are no different from the video game, TV screen time Back then kids were not watching tv or playing video games in the middle of class. I remember when I was in school people were texting on their flip phones, I can't imagine the extent of distractions in school today. I used to pay attention in class only because there was nothing more entertaining to do. If I had a phone an…

> 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.

Re: Unesco calls for global ban on smartphones in schools

#87

Post by inconceivable » Wed, Jul 26, 2023, 1:52 PM UTC

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.)

30 years ago i rode my bicycle to school on public roads. without a helmet.

Re: Unesco calls for global ban on smartphones in schools

#88

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Jul 26, 2023, 1:52 PM UTC

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.)

[deleted]

Re: Unesco calls for global ban on smartphones in schools

#89

Post by shortrounddev2 » Wed, Jul 26, 2023, 1:54 PM UTC

ecshafer wrote: post #52

Loughla wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I guess at some point teachers gave up trying to enforce the rules. Or the idea of being away from your phone for hours at a time became strange to everyone. Or maybe teachers thought they could incorporate phones into lesson plans. I can speak from experience in teaching, and being married to a teacher who both have seem the implementation of smartphones and the consequences thereof. It's not the students, it's not…

I grew up in a rural area and I was running off into the woods behind my house with my siblings at like age 4 or 5, no supervision required. The idea that a kid can't play in the woods by themselves is weird to me. Parents are definitely getting to helicoptering, I saw a group of 18 year olds decide they wanted to get pizza while at someone's house, and then decide to all call their parents to ask if it were okay (no…

Once, when I was 18, I went to an anime convention the next state over. I drove 3 friends and we shared a hotel room. We took lightrail into the city, but found that it was unreliable, so at the end of the night, we decided to try to hitch a ride with an acquaintance back to the hotel. He had a car which seated 5, so it was him, his sister, 3 of us, and then the last friend would take a cab.

This 24 year old called his mom to ask if it was okay if he drove some people in his car. A car that he owned. His mom said he could drive one person.

We said "nevermind, dude, we'll just all take a cab". This was 2013.

Re: Unesco calls for global ban on smartphones in schools

#90

Post by nordsieck » Wed, Jul 26, 2023, 1:54 PM UTC

rainclouds wrote: post #79

retrac wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> My 12 year old can take the subway to school by himself, but ONLY if he has a phone in case he ends up in some wackadoodle situation where his train has gone express or is on another train line and he needs to call his lifeline (me!) to figure out how to work it out. I was taking the subway to school by myself at 12 in Toronto (maybe a slightly less intense city, to be fair). I'm not sure about NYC but in Toronto i…

Turning red is accurate /verified. The only place I’ve personally witnessed wide spread mass transit use for youth in school is Japan. Totally normal and feels safe.

> The only place I’ve personally witnessed wide spread mass transit use for youth in school is Japan.

Kids have been able to ride the busses around Seattle for free for many years now (and before that, during the summer for free). It's worked out pretty well. Or at least the program as continued, and I've seen a lot of kids using the city busses.

Definitely a better system than yellow school busses.