 New research surveys show 95 percent of teens own or have access to a smartphone. Contrast that with a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, which found that ninety percent of school principals support restrictions on cell phone use.
80 percent say cell phones at school have negative effects on academics and social development. Even if we're not consciously thinking about our phone while it's there, at some level, our brain is essentially having to work not to think about it.
Dr. Laurie Cooke with the Brain Performance Institute at UT Dallas says research backs up the idea that phones can be a big distraction at school. A University of Texas study found evidence that just having a phone nearby, like in a backpack, affected cognitive performance.
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even if the phone was switched off, Dr. Cooke cites several reasons why like the so-called dopamine addiction from a steady flow of messages and notifications and the habit of just constantly checking our phones. Then there's the fear of missing out on what's happening on our phones without us, so what can parents do?
It's hard to put the genie back in the bottle and take away phones altogether, but we can encourage kids to leave their phones off at school and put them away. Consider installing apps that control access. Don't be afraid to ask a teacher.
If your kid's device is a distraction and you set examples by modeling healthy phone use at home, absolutely, our kids see that and learn from that, so I think it's really important for us to be good models and have some dedicated technology-free time to do those other things that really allow us to thrive.
