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Kudos to the parent for setting clear limits to their kids cell phone use. Most of us on HN can be grateful for having been able to fully develop our faculties
by dagss 2y ago
Kudos to the parent for setting clear limits to their kids cell phone use.
Most of us on HN can be grateful for having been able to fully develop our faculties in an age where instant dopamine shots weren't available 24/7.
Looking at kids growing up now and stories from teachers in classrooms it's dystopic IMO. A 1/3 of teachers' time spent battling for attention against TikTok. Teenagers sitting together and not giving each other proper attention because of constant interrupts from Snapchat. No room for boredness-initiated creativity in the lives whatsoever.
I don't think Soma from Brave New World was all that far off from what's happening with smartphones.
I hope we're at the top of the curve now though, at least in Norway phone use in education and social settings is seen more and more like smoking and more and more parents at least try to delay the introduction of screens for as long as they can. And (some) high schools are finally imposing PROPER bans against smartphones during class (i.e. confiscation rather than "I promise not to use it" which simply doesn't work). It's a hard long battle at this point though; made harder by adult techno-optimists (most of whom I can only assume probably haven't properly seen teenagers these days in action)
- arrowsmith 2y ago> Teenagers sitting together and not giving each other proper attention because of constant interrupts from Snapchat. Why are phones allowed in the classroom? When I was in school, if you were caught looking at your phone in class, or if the phone made a noise from your pocket/bag, it would instantly be confiscated - no second chances. If phones are causing problems in school, maybe the school could try establishing some basic standards of behaviour and discipline? How is this difficult?
- dagss 2y agoI would say the exact same thing as you. But, that is Norway for you... I think the issue might be that in Norway the teachers would not be allowed to confiscate the phone; concerns about school being liable if device is damaged etc. This autumn luckily the Norwegian government FINALLY, very long overdue, made it clear phones should not be allowed. In the school where my wife teaches this made a night and day difference as they started requiring the use of a "phone hotel" during class. But in other schools they for some reason do not.
- f1shy 2y agoI was in the school many years ago. The cell phone was still not invented (for other 10 years). But having ANY electronic gadget was no-go. Like, parents being cited, whole program... When did that change?! A shame.
- aftbit 2y agoI got my phone taken away in high school once because my dad called me during the lunch hour to ask me for a number on an insurance card that was in my wallet. I was sitting outside eating, answered the call, read him the number, and hung up. About thirty seconds later, a teacher came outside, took my phone away, and gave me a detention. I wasn't disrupting class or distracting myself at all. This was on a dumb phone, taking a call from a parent. I argued against the detention and was told that my school had a "zero tolerance" policy for cell phone use under any circumstances, just like weapons. What changed?
- crooked-v 2y agoThe US completely gave up on the idea of actually stopping school shootings, so parents now only feel comfortable if they can contact their children 24/7.
- akimbostrawman 2y agoHow would a call to the parents help in such a situation and how would a dumb phone not work the same? The only one who has given up are the parents and teachers on setting proper boundaries to children because most likely they themselves are addicted.
- arrowsmith 2y agoSmartphones are ubiquitous in schools outside the US too.
- aftbit 2y agoYeah I dunno if I buy that explanation, for reasons given in both of the sibling comments. I think it's more likely that students are dopamine-addicted to their phones and don't know how to exercise the necessary self control, and parents and teachers are unwilling or unable to do it for them. It makes DARE from the 90s feel even more surreal than it already did when I lived through it as a student. Kids, don't do drugs, but it is okay to become dependent on technology.