Student Phones and Social Media Are Fueling Fights in Schools

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/15/technology/school-fight-videos-student-phones.html

by marban • 2 years ago

18 6 2 years ago

The key point is that phones in school and elsewhere change the stakes by acting as informational weapons due to the social significance of what happens online. Our brains are not wired to interact in this way.

Some may argue that phones should be banned in schools, and I agree with that but I think it's a narrow-minded view. Phones should not be a thing at all in society. They create a new sort of psychological dependence that takes us away from being human.

I am happy I went to high school before phones were a thing. Almost no one had a phone although one or two students at a dumbphone. In my opinion, mobile computing devices are a mistake for humanity. Just like cars which have a speed limit on most roads, we should have an information limit and phones push us past that limit.

Shame on all tech companies who promote this technology.

samgranieri• 2 years ago

Back when I was in high school in the pre everyone had cellphones era, one girl had a cellphone. During history class it went off. Our teacher snagged the phone and started talking to her boyfriend, who was a fellow high school student, who was asking the girl if she wanted cigarettes from the nearby gas station. I think the teacher recognized the boyfriend and gave him detention for cutting class.

paxys• 2 years ago

Social media has been fueling fights in schools since at least 2005. And probably well before that if you loosen the definition of social media.

I’m sure phones are a problem, but school administrators have always preferred to blame everyone but themselves for their lack of control over discipline and bullying.

kunai• 2 years ago

There's one particular variable in all of these examples and videos that is conveniently elided by the authors, which is that most of these seem like inner-city schools. Children born into poverty with lackluster parenting are more likely to act out, the presence of social media notwithstanding.

Der_Einzige• 2 years ago

I believe it’s state sanctioned child abuse to require kids to attend a bad, inner city school.

Get rid of compulsory schooling and leave it open to all who want it. The animals will leave on their own.

Rychard• 2 years ago

I'm having a hard time reading this as a reasonable suggestion, so I apologize in advance if I'm being closed-minded.

Do you not believe that this would lead to further bad outcomes? Children need something to do during the day, and with neither the ability to work, nor other obligations (not to mention their brains are not fully developed) it seems like they would end up far worse off than they would otherwise, even if the school was under-performing.

Student Phones and Social Media Are Fueling Fights in Schools

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