Technology Usage

What is technology use?

Technology use is how a person uses a device (phone, computer, etc.). Specifically, the issue we are dealing with is irresponsible use of phones and computers while in school.

Destructive Decisions and Technology Use

Some destructive decisions from technology uses in the school environment is how students are addicted to their phones and it distracts the class from learning. Students play games while in class on their phone and their computers instead of learning. While out of school, destructive decisions are when using your phone it could cause distractions from the road and other things, even when you're walking it could cause you to lose control and focus and walk into something you shouldn't.

How does technology use impact school culture?

When students are on their phones in school, it takes away from school being a learning community, and can cause serious mental health issues. Due to the use of social media, students worry about being bullied, filmed, and talked about while at school. Social media use has gotten so bad within schools, that a lawsuit with over 500 school districts has been filed against the owners of Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube.

Technology Use Statistics

Teens are spending upwards of 7 hours per day on their phones for entertainment, with as few as 1 in 10 teens creating their own content. This means that students are simply watching videos, playing games, and using social media for almost 50% of the time they are awake each day. It's not good for you to spend so much time staring into a screen - people should get outside more and enjoy natural weather. It's just become a distraction for most people due to them constantly checking on their phone instead of just enjoying life.

How are other schools dealing with technology use?

Other schools are dealing with this in different rules and guidelines that they have like other schools around New Hampshire and here's a list of what they do to deal with this issue:

Gilford: Consent of the teacher.
Belmont: No phone usage whatsoever, strict consequence tier.
Winnisquam: One bud policy for music, no use of phone otherwise.
Interlake's: Cell phones off in “tree area” unless otherwise allowed by teacher.

Solutions

Possible solutions we thought of are that we could have a monitoring system on computers, and if you're passing, you can use headphones with one earbud in. We did also think about the possibility of taking away computers if they are misused too much, but that'd make more work for teachers.

We came up with a consequence tier for phones, as well as for computers.

Structured consequence tier for phones
- First offense: warning from the teacher
- Second: take away phone for the block, put in wall pocket
- Third: phone goes to the office
- More than three: In-school suspension
Structured consequence tier for computers
- First offense: warning from the teacher
- Second: conference with student
- Third: conference with parent and student
- More than three: In-school suspension

Additionally, students should be aware of the amount of time they're spending on their phones. By turning on "screen time" settings, which only a reported 12% of teens are aware of, students can see how long they are spending on entertainment, social media, etc.

Works Cited:

Jacabo, Julia. "Teens Spend more than 7 hours on screens for entertainment a day". ABC News. Article

Randazzo, Sara. "Schools Sue Social-Media Platforms Over Alleged Harms to Students". The Wall Street Journal. Article

"Follow Me and Like my Beautiful Selfies: Social Media Use and Adolescent Mental Health". Center for Public Education. Article

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