Is It Time to Remove Cellphones from Classrooms?
Can the genie be put back in the cellphone?
Every parent knows the challenges of getting children to turn off screens. The 1950s cliché of “Don’t sit so close to the TV” may seem quaint, but it was also a harbinger of things to come.
Seven decades ago, the concern was over compromising young eyes and brains. Today, issues related to excessive screen time are even more grave. In tracking the rise in depression among youth over the past decade or so, experts offer some pretty persuasive evidence that supports what parents suspected for years: Screen time can be perilous.
The current generation of kids have been raised on (and by) the internet. Conversations about addressing appropriate screen usage were overdue even before the pandemic exacerbated the problem.