This movie plot is not just compelling storytelling, it taps into the real anxiety of parenting in the digital age, where screens have become as ubiquitous at home as they are at school.
Today’s teens are bombarded with over 230 notifications on their smart phones every day; teens who spend more than three hours a day on social media face double the risk of mental health challenges, like depression and anxiety. Parents worry about their children’s growing dependence on screens.
A Lower Merion parent, Adam Washington, says his son struggles with screen addiction, so sometimes he takes away his phone or TV — only to find him watching YouTube on the school laptop instead. “The screen is killing him. It is killing me, and him, together with our relationship.”
Kids themselves understand the harm, with nearly half of Americans teens admitting they spend too much time on social media. Three-quarters of teens want some form of phone use restriction during the school day. Adults agree – a new poll found nearly nine out of 10 Pennsylvanians think schools should limit their students’ access to cellphones during the school day.
PA legislators and school districts are also paying attention. Two bipartisan bills are moving through Harrisburg, and together they represent the strongest push to protect children from the harm of cellphones in school settings. The PA Senate passed the Phone-Free Schools bill (SB 1014), sponsored by Sens. Devin Robinson (R-Allegheny), Vincent Hughes (D-Phila), and Steven Santarsiero (D-Bucks), that would create a bell-to-bell cellphone ban in all K-12 public schools. The PA House passed similar bipartisan legislation earlier this month.
Governor Shapiro welcomes the change. “Our kids deserve to learn in a classroom that’s free from distraction, and where they can spend real time together, free from screens. Protecting our kids’ childhood is bipartisan. So, let’s get a bill to my desk and get this done.” Fourteen other states already have statewide cellphone school bans in place.
Taking cellphones out of classrooms is a good first step, and lawmakers should be commended for their efforts. But there’s more we can do. Right now, Pennsylvania’s mental health system is designed to wait for a child to be in serious distress before the system shows up for them. There is no equivalent to a pediatrician’s well-visit for youth mental health.
Cellphones and tablets are simply “symptom-amplifiers.” The underlying youth mental health crisis won’t be solved by putting devices away for the school day. It must be solved by building the kind of mental health system our children actually need. Addressing the addictive nature of screen time and social media is just a piece of a functioning mental health system for kids. Until then, kids’ mental well-being will continue to be on hold.
To learn more about efforts to improve mental health services for kids and teens, visit the Strong Minds, Bright Futures website.
