Source: AFP
Los Angeles education bosses voted on Tuesday to work towards a complete ban on smartphone use in the city’s schools.
The move comes as the governor of California, the US’s most populous state, has voiced support for restrictions on the devices and as concerns grow about their impact on young people’s mental health.
The Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education, which runs the nation’s second-largest school district, ordered staff to come up with a plan to ban cell phones and social media throughout the school day.
“Schools that have … already implemented a phone-free school day are reporting incredible results — kids are happier, they’re talking to each other, their academics are up,” said board member Nick Melvoin, who proposed the ban. .
“And so I really think this is an idea whose time has come.”
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The resolution cited research showing that excessive cell phone use was associated with increased stress, anxiety, depression, sleep problems, feelings of aggression and suicidal thoughts in teenagers.
He says that eliminating phone and social media use during the day has been shown to increase scores on standardized tests and final exams, gains that “equal to an extra hour of instructional time per week.”
The LAUSD vote, which would affect 600,000 students, comes after the U.S. surgeon general, the nation’s top doctor, called for warning labels on social media platforms, which he said are incubating a mental health crisis.
“Teens who spend more than three hours a day on social media face twice the risk of symptoms of anxiety and depression,” wrote Dr. Vivek Murthy in a New York Times opinion piece.
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“The average daily use in this age group, as of summer 2023, was 4.8 hours,” he noted.
Hours before LAUSD voted on the resolution, which directs staff to come up with a plan within the next four months, California Gov. Gavin Newsom threw his weight behind a statewide effort to curb smartphone use among of the students.
“As the Surgeon General has confirmed, social media is harming the mental health of our youth,” he said.
“When children and teenagers go to school, they should focus on their studies and not on their screens.”
A bill pending in the California state legislature would require school districts to adopt measures that prohibit or restrict the use of phones by students while in schools.
“I look forward to working with the legislature to limit smartphone use during the school day,” said Newsom, a father of four.
Florida, whose governor Ron DeSantis is a staunch opponent of Newsom’s, banned cell phone use by students last year.
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Similar plans are underway in Oklahoma, Kansas, Vermont, Ohio, Louisiana and Pennsylvania.
Source: AFP