If you got to write legislation to "protect young people online" and it will be passed and enacted in good faith what, if anything, would you propose?
@futurebird@sauropods.win one of the few things KY got right is formally banning phones in schools. Doesn’t change their online behavior outside of schools, but it does force them to have a period of no screen time and to have to cope with that.
Alternative pitch that actually addresses online content: begin formally controlling addictive design in social media and gaming. Any other addictive thing (gambling, substances) is legally controlled, but not digital concepts. Seems like a temporary loophole.
@guitargabe@musicians.today
"One of the few things KY got right is formally banning phones in schools."
Honestly, as a teacher, I feel this is a sledgehammer solution. Basically it's more work to teach young people how to have a phone on their person and use it in a polite and socially acceptable way. My students all have phones and they keep them in their bag. We have rules and enforce them. But if my classes were larger I could see how this would be a problem.
But the real problem is that class size IMO.
@guitargabe@musicians.today
Also, I just think it's a safety issue. If a student needs to use a phone during the day because of an emergency it should be easy.
Having worked in a school with a "no phones" policy I felt that the whole system of checking phones in and out was almost worse that keeping up with the rules we have at my current school where they may have phones, but if they get 3 strikes we talk to their parents about if they are ready to have a phone at school.
@futurebird@sauropods.win I don’t buy the safety thing, though. That’s what the office phone has always been for, every individual kid doesn’t need to keep their finger on the pulse of the world
@guitargabe@musicians.today
There are many reasons why students may need to have their phones on them.
As well as emergencies, like @futurebird@sauropods.win wrote, consider a kid with diabetes who uses their phone to control their artificial pancreas or a hard-of-hearing kid whose phone links to their hearing aides.
They should be able to keep their phones without having to argue for exemptions (and some particularly badly-designed cell phone bans have not even included those).
@guitargabe@musicians.today
That camp that flooded had a "no phones" policy that played a role in their inability to evacuate. During several school shootings student phones were the first to get word to the police.
Phones have also helped students to expose abusive teachers.
But less dramatic: There aren't really pay-phones anymore. If a kid needs to text their parents I think they should be able to without someone hovering over their shoulder.
(As long as I don't see them during my lessons.)
@futurebird@sauropods.win Sorry but I have to disagree on that one. If you've ever seen a bunch of teenagers with phones you know that allowing that in a summer camp completely changes the entire social dynamics by, erm, taking away much of the "social" part
If you want to retain some way to text then maybe smart watches would be an option. But you have to eliminate access to social media if you want anything else to go on besides a couple of kids complaining every time you interrupt their Tiktok consumption
@futurebird@sauropods.win Sorry but I have to disagree on that one. If you've ever seen a bunch of teenagers with phones you know that allowing that in a summer camp completely changes the entire social dynamics by, erm, taking away much of the "social" part
If you want to retain some way to text then maybe smart watches would be an option. But you have to eliminate access to social media if you want anything else to go on besides a couple of kids complaining every time you interrupt their Tiktok consumption
@archroadkill@mastodon.social
Also important when I was doing a head count before getting on a boat to go back to the mainland I couldn't find one student. (The level of panic I was feeling was extreme.)
So I called them. (I have all their numbers in my phone, and a group text where I could blast them all with a text quickly. Didn't need to use that one.)
I LOVED being able to just call them.
(They were back talking to the candlemaking guy and came running right away.)
@archroadkill@mastodon.social
I'm a teacher and I've taken kids on camping trips. They all had their phones. We told them that this was meant to be an offline time and their phones would need to stay in their bags.
I had to tell two students to put them away and threaten to take the phone of one who did it again. Some of them used their phones in their sleeping bags after lights out, but most didn't. I didn't bother to enforce that one since during the day they forget the phones even existed.
@futurebird@sauropods.win @archroadkill@mastodon.social
I'm with you 100%. Of course I'm an anarchist and I generally don't like anyone banning anything at a government level. I think it's fine to enforce contextual community rules, I think it's even better to explain the reasoning for the rules and get consensus and buy in from those who are supposed to follow them. It's even better if the things you're doing are in fact more interesting than scrolling Insta...
My kids understand when phones are and are not appropriate
@archroadkill@mastodon.social
I do think there can be something freeing and wonderful about "disconnecting" but I don't think one really feels it if someone else is forcing you to do it.
This trip was middle school. The seniors decided that they didn't want any phone use on their bus ride as we let them decide what rules they wanted for their class trip. (up to a point)
@archroadkill@mastodon.social
I love to let them set the rules when possible because then I don't need to be the cop. They are so strict with each other.
@futurebird@sauropods.win @archroadkill@mastodon.social
I'm with you 100%. Of course I'm an anarchist and I generally don't like anyone banning anything at a government level. I think it's fine to enforce contextual community rules, I think it's even better to explain the reasoning for the rules and get consensus and buy in from those who are supposed to follow them. It's even better if the things you're doing are in fact more interesting than scrolling Insta...
My kids understand when phones are and are not appropriate
@archroadkill@mastodon.social
I do think there can be something freeing and wonderful about "disconnecting" but I don't think one really feels it if someone else is forcing you to do it.
This trip was middle school. The seniors decided that they didn't want any phone use on their bus ride as we let them decide what rules they wanted for their class trip. (up to a point)
@archroadkill@mastodon.social
I love to let them set the rules when possible because then I don't need to be the cop. They are so strict with each other.
@futurebird@sauropods.win @archroadkill@mastodon.social
At a summer camp my one kid brought a tablet, which would have literally zero internet, to his sleepaway camp. It had a large pre-downloaded music library so he could share his eclectic and historically informed music tastes with other kids. It was a legitimate and well thought out attempt to socialize... the tablet was confiscated the first day and he never got to do any of that. One size fits all. In the end it wasn't a giant deal, but it didn't help anything either
@futurebird@sauropods.win @archroadkill@mastodon.social
At a summer camp my one kid brought a tablet, which would have literally zero internet, to his sleepaway camp. It had a large pre-downloaded music library so he could share his eclectic and historically informed music tastes with other kids. It was a legitimate and well thought out attempt to socialize... the tablet was confiscated the first day and he never got to do any of that. One size fits all. In the end it wasn't a giant deal, but it didn't help anything either
myrmepropagandist
guitargabe
