I want to share some important results from a survey my team conducted with our community of Tech Talk Tuesday readers last week. Respondents were parents of elementary school age children. We received over 1,000 responses in just a couple of days—thank you everyone!
One question was “Do any of your child’s classmates have cell phones?"
Sixty percent of parents of 3rd-grade children (i.e., age 8 and 9) say that at least one of their child’s classmates has a cell phone. Our survey also found that just over half of the elementary age students that have their own phone bring it with them to school.
The takeaway is that cell phones are starting to be present in schools for kids as young as age 8.
In the survey, some parents shared that cell phones have been problematic in school and on the schoolbus. Many said that their elementary school lacks a cell phone policy and that they would like to see one established that calls for phones to be put away for the day.
This comment is reflective of many:
"Her elementary school has no cell phone policy! I think they assume that most kids don't have phones yet, however; she has a couple of friends who do have phones ... and she has said that on more than one occasion, there have been cell phones ringing in backpacks during class. Our district has a policy starting in middle school (all phones have to stay off and in lockers during the day), but in this day and age, the policy, unfortunately, needs to begin in elementary school!”
Another point that was made many times in the survey was about the use of phones on school buses. One parent said:
"My child (with no phone) says when bus drivers allow devices on the buses, no one talks to anyone. He says he looks out the window when no one else talks."
Our website Away For The Day is full of resources to help you work for a policy in your child’s school. Many parents, educators and others have used the research, testimonials, letter templates, and answers to common pushbacks to help them advocate for clear policies banning cell phones at school. Please take a pledge here:
If you support school policies that require students to put their cell phones away for the day in lockers, backpacks or other places all day. And, forward this blog post to anyone you know who cares about this topic. Thank you so very much! It is wonderful to be working together to make positive change.
We would love for you to share this TTT any way that works for you, whether that’s on social media or via a newsletter. If you want to send it out in your newsletter we just ask that you credit us and link to our website, and let us know at lisa@screenagersmovie.com.
HOST A SCREENING to help spark change.
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Our movie made for parents and educators of younger kids
Learn more about showing our movies in your school or community!
Learn more about showing our movies in your school or community!
Join Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD for our latest Podcast
Learn more about our Screen-Free Sleep campaign at the website!
Our movie made for parents and educators of younger kids
Join Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD for our latest Podcast
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I want to share some important results from a survey my team conducted with our community of Tech Talk Tuesday readers last week. Respondents were parents of elementary school age children. We received over 1,000 responses in just a couple of days—thank you everyone!
One question was “Do any of your child’s classmates have cell phones?"
Sixty percent of parents of 3rd-grade children (i.e., age 8 and 9) say that at least one of their child’s classmates has a cell phone. Our survey also found that just over half of the elementary age students that have their own phone bring it with them to school.
The takeaway is that cell phones are starting to be present in schools for kids as young as age 8.
In the survey, some parents shared that cell phones have been problematic in school and on the schoolbus. Many said that their elementary school lacks a cell phone policy and that they would like to see one established that calls for phones to be put away for the day.
This comment is reflective of many:
"Her elementary school has no cell phone policy! I think they assume that most kids don't have phones yet, however; she has a couple of friends who do have phones ... and she has said that on more than one occasion, there have been cell phones ringing in backpacks during class. Our district has a policy starting in middle school (all phones have to stay off and in lockers during the day), but in this day and age, the policy, unfortunately, needs to begin in elementary school!”
Another point that was made many times in the survey was about the use of phones on school buses. One parent said:
"My child (with no phone) says when bus drivers allow devices on the buses, no one talks to anyone. He says he looks out the window when no one else talks."
Our website Away For The Day is full of resources to help you work for a policy in your child’s school. Many parents, educators and others have used the research, testimonials, letter templates, and answers to common pushbacks to help them advocate for clear policies banning cell phones at school. Please take a pledge here:
If you support school policies that require students to put their cell phones away for the day in lockers, backpacks or other places all day. And, forward this blog post to anyone you know who cares about this topic. Thank you so very much! It is wonderful to be working together to make positive change.
We would love for you to share this TTT any way that works for you, whether that’s on social media or via a newsletter. If you want to send it out in your newsletter we just ask that you credit us and link to our website, and let us know at lisa@screenagersmovie.com.
HOST A SCREENING to help spark change.
FIND EVENT LISTINGS
Do you organize professional development in schools? We now have a 6-hour, 3-part training module. Request more information here Professional Development.
Stay in touch with the Screenagers community on Facebook, Twitter and leave comments below.
Sign up here to receive the weekly Tech Talk Tuesdays newsletter from Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD.
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I want to share some important results from a survey my team conducted with our community of Tech Talk Tuesday readers last week. Respondents were parents of elementary school age children. We received over 1,000 responses in just a couple of days—thank you everyone!
One question was “Do any of your child’s classmates have cell phones?"
Sixty percent of parents of 3rd-grade children (i.e., age 8 and 9) say that at least one of their child’s classmates has a cell phone. Our survey also found that just over half of the elementary age students that have their own phone bring it with them to school.
The takeaway is that cell phones are starting to be present in schools for kids as young as age 8.
In the survey, some parents shared that cell phones have been problematic in school and on the schoolbus. Many said that their elementary school lacks a cell phone policy and that they would like to see one established that calls for phones to be put away for the day.
This comment is reflective of many:
"Her elementary school has no cell phone policy! I think they assume that most kids don't have phones yet, however; she has a couple of friends who do have phones ... and she has said that on more than one occasion, there have been cell phones ringing in backpacks during class. Our district has a policy starting in middle school (all phones have to stay off and in lockers during the day), but in this day and age, the policy, unfortunately, needs to begin in elementary school!”
Another point that was made many times in the survey was about the use of phones on school buses. One parent said:
"My child (with no phone) says when bus drivers allow devices on the buses, no one talks to anyone. He says he looks out the window when no one else talks."
Our website Away For The Day is full of resources to help you work for a policy in your child’s school. Many parents, educators and others have used the research, testimonials, letter templates, and answers to common pushbacks to help them advocate for clear policies banning cell phones at school. Please take a pledge here:
If you support school policies that require students to put their cell phones away for the day in lockers, backpacks or other places all day. And, forward this blog post to anyone you know who cares about this topic. Thank you so very much! It is wonderful to be working together to make positive change.
We would love for you to share this TTT any way that works for you, whether that’s on social media or via a newsletter. If you want to send it out in your newsletter we just ask that you credit us and link to our website, and let us know at lisa@screenagersmovie.com.
HOST A SCREENING to help spark change.
FIND EVENT LISTINGS
Do you organize professional development in schools? We now have a 6-hour, 3-part training module. Request more information here Professional Development.
Stay in touch with the Screenagers community on Facebook, Twitter and leave comments below.
This year, millions of students are experiencing a major shift: school days without phones, smartwatches, or other personal devices. Today we explore the wins, hurdles, and solutions helping schools succeed. We also share our resources that you can use to support technology policy changes in your schools.
READ MORE >
I recently sat down with middle school principal Zach at his school in Washington State. We talked about the challenges Zach and his team faced in his early years as principal when students used phones during school, and how he brought about a powerful transformation by having phones and smartwatches put away in locked pouches for the whole school day. In today’s blog, to raise awareness of the challenges, I share five real examples from Zach of the troubling ways students use phones at school to be unkind.
READ MORE >
It is with great pleasure that I share with you today a piece that Lisa Tabb and I did for Jonathan Haidt's (Author of The Anxious Generation) and researcher Zack Rausch's Substack blog — After Babel. In it, we discuss the rise in use of smartwatches in elementary schools and the problems they pose. There is a real cost to arming (pun intended) our kids with these devices and sending them to school. Now is the time to stop and fully address this topic and ensure that schools become smartwatch and phone-free.
READ MORE >for more like this, DR. DELANEY RUSTON'S NEW BOOK, PARENTING IN THE SCREEN AGE, IS THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE FOR TODAY’S PARENTS. WITH INSIGHTS ON SCREEN TIME FROM RESEARCHERS, INPUT FROM KIDS & TEENS, THIS BOOK IS PACKED WITH SOLUTIONS FOR HOW TO START AND SUSTAIN PRODUCTIVE FAMILY TALKS ABOUT TECHNOLOGY AND IT’S IMPACT ON OUR MENTAL WELLBEING.
