The government’s decision to invest €9 million in Yondr pouches to lock smartphones has sparked controversy since the Budget was announced last week.
It is difficult to know whether the opposition’s anger is genuine or merely political. This election seems to suggest the latter.
If so, it would be terrible to play politics with children’s mental health in mind when not enough money is being spent on this. Yes, 9 million euros is a lot of money, but in terms of 12 billion euros, it represents less than 0.01% of education spending. So not so much in that context.
It doesn’t solve the smartphone problem. There is no place for them in school, zero.
I’m asking why people are annoyed about 9 million euros. Because the government spends way too much on things like bike storage, security huts and, of course, children’s hospitals.
So even though schools could tell students to leave things in lockers, this may also seem like a frivolous waste.
But it didn’t work out for 15 years, and chaos continued at the school.
Any attempt to take smartphones out of school is welcome. They cause serious problems. They rob you of your childhood. They hinder learning and affect mental health. There is a growing body of evidence about the damage these mobile phones are having on children.
This has to stop and we have to take action.
I’m not a politician and I have no involvement in this issue at all other than sitting with teenagers and their families and working with schools every day.
I also serve on the National Advisory Board of the Parenting and Technology Institute. The association offers programs to improve parents’ skills on how to raise technology-savvy children.
I also use it at my daughter’s school. I interviewed students and listened to their feedback.
Generally, they tell me it’s better to have a cell phone, but when I mention the good things about not having a cell phone, most of the time they say it’s because it’s fun to chat with friends at lunch, Explain that if you have a phone, you don’t have a cell phone.
You can focus more on your schoolwork without the distraction of constantly checking your phone.
Teachers also reported less disruption in the classroom, fewer bathroom breaks, fewer phones ringing and notifications during class, and students paying more attention to what was being taught. I am doing it.
Of course, teenagers can find ways around pouches by not locking them properly or by bringing another cell phone to school, but none of their classmates have their cell phones. If you don’t have access to it, there will be no one to send messages, creating a cellphone-free culture. .
Children need a break from the constant buying and selling of cell phones. This constant activity, going in and out of the platform, affects your ability to concentrate.
I’ve spoken to many teenagers preparing for the Leaving Certificate exam and they almost all say the same thing. I wish I had never gotten a cell phone earlier in my life because I understand how it has affected my ability to concentrate. And memorize it.
Excessive smartphone use can reduce cognitive performance, cause problems with social and emotional skills, disrupt sleep patterns, and cause mental inertia.
Infinite scrolling is having a negative impact on all of us, not to mention the impact it has on young developing minds.
Brain regions associated with peer reinforcement, attention, and feedback are more sensitive during adolescence than at any other time in life.
Giving teenagers a portable device that is designed to feed them extreme content and keep them constantly checking will result in less satisfaction during this adulthood.
Again, I think we all know that our children are less happy than previous generations.
We are in a time of anxiety. Constant comparison, exclusion, cyberbullying, pornography, and filtered images of perfect lives are just some of the daily experiences of children using smartphones.
Smartphones have the advantage of allowing you to connect with friends and get information at your fingertips. But school is a place to learn and connect with others. Smartphones have no place in that environment.
Of course, 9 million euros can be spent in a thousand different ways. At Camhs, we need to rebuild from the core to the branches to ensure our most vulnerable families receive the care they so desperately need.
The 49 recommendations outlined by the Mental Health Commission must be addressed. It’s been 17 months since it was published and still nothing has happened. This is an urgent issue.
But there is also an urgent need to take mobile phones out of children’s hands so that they can learn and develop in a healthy manner. Any attempt to achieve this should be applauded.
Next step; there are no smartphones at school.
Final step: Those who create these platforms are responsible for the content they push to children.
