As someone who's advocated for reducing unnecessary screen time in schools for over a decade, I find Jessica Grose's latest piece in The New York Times both timely and accurate. The article "Get Tech Out of the Classroom Before It's Too Late" resonates deeply with my experiences moving from school to school and witnessing the varied impacts of technology on student engagement and safety. While tech has undeniable benefits, its integration into every aspect of our educational system raises critical questions about its effectiveness and the trade-offs involved. If we want to talk about this in business terms, we could mention opportunity cost - what are our children and teens missing by being on their screens? 

More than two schools I work with have taken bold steps in banning mobile phones during the day. At one of the schools, students reported feeling safer and less dependent on their devices during the school day—a small but telling victory. When it comes to bans or restrictions on school networks, there is hesitance. Most schools don't ban TikTok or other social media even though we know that the teens themselves don't always want to be on TikTok.There is research that clearly shows kids are on TikTok for fear of missing out - not because they love what they are missing. Teens also report that they can't get friends to do something with them, because everyone is on their devices. We are on a horrible highway, but no one wants to take the off-ramp and pull the plug. 

You might think that since students are working during the day, they don't access this during class. They do. Students spend time on not only YouTube, which could be argued as an educational platform, but all kinds of other social media platforms including TikTok and Instagram. All of my experience in schools, speaking with students and teachers alike shows me that we are not doing enough to prevent this from diluting our kids’ school days.

The call to action is clear: We need to assess and possibly recalibrate our approach to technology in schools. Jonathan Haidt  echoes this sentiment in his book, "The Anxious Generation," supporting the necessity for scaling back tech use with solid research. But this is a complex issue, with educators and parents often divided on the best path forward.  The question remains: how do we do it? 

One teacher I spoke to panicked when I suggested removing iPads from her elementary school class. She is young and has always had access to an iPad in the classroom. She learned how to use this tool during her teaching degree,  and does not know how to teach without. This was an ‘ah-hah’ moment for me, letting me know that this might require some serious change management within schools to support teachers. Other arguments I have heard from parents and educators alike that banning things doesn't work because kids just find a workaround. I would like to argue that it depends on the ban and how you manage it. 

For example, we know that vaping is bad for teens. It has been banned for minors not only in shops, but also in schools. Yet, they come to schools with vapes and they find people to buy the vapes for them. Does that mean we should just throw up our arms and allow these kids to smoke dangerous chemicals, simply because “they’ll get around it anyway?” I’m thinking about how many kids have come to me, asking me to help them stop both vaping and social media - the numbers are high! Simply put, they are asking for help managing their vices and learning to create healthy habits, and we’re not giving them adequate support because we think they’re doomed to fail. How discouraging is that?

I firmly believe that if set up correctly, students could be in charge of this change in their schools, educational trials like an experiment on blocking TikTok, or studying algorithmic content pathways. Give them some responsibility and guide them in taking action. I know that staying with the status quo will not work - the kids aren't okay and they are asking us for our experience and help.

I know this might be rather polarizing. Please feed back with your experiences and suggestions. I would love to hear your comments!

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–Allison Ochs, social pedagogue/worker, author, mother of three, wife

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