Opinion

Analysis: Mobile phones are a scourge but useful tool

Too much daily screen time has been found to impact on mental health and sleep
Too much daily screen time has been found to impact on mental health and sleep Too much daily screen time has been found to impact on mental health and sleep

MOBILE phones can be a scourge in schools - but equally are a useful tool.

Over the past two decades, they have increasingly become a more prominent feature of modern society.

A generation has now grown up, many glued to devices from their earliest years.

Asking young people to suddenly set them to the side for a large part of the day can be problematic.

Yes, developments in technology have transformed the learning experience for pupils and made significant improvements to the working lives and practices of classroom staff.

But it continues to present several challenges in schools.

Teachers report there is a growing problem of abuse of technology in education, particularly cyberbullying.

The ever?increasing sophistication of mobile phone technology increases the possibilities of inappropriate use.

Most devices can record videos and take photographs. A survey by the NASUWT union found almost one in three teachers had videos or photos taken without their consent.

In addition, there is potential to use phones for texting, in class, while on silent mode or using the internet to access social media and inappropriate applications.

Teachers say phones can also interrupt lessons and disrupt the learning of young people.

Too much daily screen time has been found to impact on mental health and sleep.

This can also impede young people from developing healthy relationships with others and participating in extra?curricular activities.

The French government enacted a ban on mobile phone use in schools last year. The UK's Education Secretary Damian Hinds ruled out a similar top-town intervention.

It has, so far, been left up to individual schools.

Almost of half of parents who responded to a recent survey said they would support an outright ban, and also `dumb down' their child's phone if required.

Belfast Royal Academy's new policy appears to go further than any seen before, and it is a move that has been, largely, endorsed. There will always be a small number that are disgruntled.

Most schools now tell pupils to keep their phones switched off during the day. If they absolutely must contact their parents, they can use a phone in the school office. This is how it always has worked.

BRA said it would prefer pupils not to have mobile phones on their possession at all, but realises this cannot cover travelling to and from school where there may be safety issues.

The school said it recognised the benefits that phones offered pupils and parents and realised an outright ban would result in a loss of these.

However, it is a school's responsibility to promote the safe and responsible use of mobile phones during the day.

It was against this backdrop that it chose to introduce such a strict policy. And other schools will likely follow.

Ultimately, teachers and pupils have a right to teach and learn in a school environment free from interruption by mobile phones and other devices.

Any measures that help to achieve this will be applauded.