New York governor to launch bill banning smartphones in schools (www.theguardian.com)
from QuantumSpecter@lemmy.world to technology@lemmy.world on 11 Jun 21:12
https://lemmy.world/post/16429757

#technology

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autotldr@lemmings.world on 11 Jun 21:15 next collapse

This is the best summary I could come up with:


“I have seen these addictive algorithms pull in young people, literally capture them and make them prisoners in a space where they are cut off from human connection, social interaction and normal classroom activity,” she said.

The smartphone-ban bill will follow two others Hochul is pushing that outline measures to safeguard children’s privacy online and limit their access to certain features of social networks.

In New York, the bills have faced pushback from big tech, trade groups and other companies, which collectively spent more than $800,000 between October and March lobbying against one or both of them, according to public disclosure records.

This differs from other state-level bills across the country, which place some reliance on self-policing by tech companies to decide which features could be harmful by completing assessments of whether products are “reasonably likely” to be accessed by children.

“Meta itself admits its own parental controls aren’t widely used – they’re often confusing and frequently fail to work as intended,” said Sacha Haworth, executive director of the Tech Oversight Project, a policy advocacy organization.

The major social media firms have faced increasing scrutiny over harms against children, including sextortion scams, grooming by predators and worsening mental health.


The original article contains 922 words, the summary contains 199 words. Saved 78%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!

NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip on 11 Jun 21:59 next collapse

I very much think smartphones do not belong in the classroom.

That said, I also very much think that assault rifles don’t belong in schools. And until we can prevent that, we can’t really take away the only way for parents to figure out if their kid is dead or just traumatized.

SaltySalamander@fedia.io on 11 Jun 22:23 next collapse

Flip phones still exist.

NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip on 11 Jun 22:27 next collapse

Are increasingly unavailable on basically any real phone plan and effectively require a dedicated purchase. Rather than giving the kid yoru old motorola you kept in the drawer.

Also, as 9-11 and other “holy shit” moments taught us, having a wide range of ways to communicate with people when EVERYONE is trying to call or even text people (SMS is a best effort protocol for a reason) is important.

Again, if we actually care about the children? Stop fucking shooting them to death. Maybe then we can figure out why they don’t need to be constantly connected to everyone they know.

afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world on 11 Jun 22:51 next collapse

Yeah a phone that can only calls 9-1-1 is basically a Uvdale special. It’s better for the kids to be able to teach the parents

downdaemon@lemmy.ml on 11 Jun 23:23 next collapse

There’sa lot of options, it’s getting more popular, search for feature phones

ThrowawayPermanente@sh.itjust.works on 12 Jun 00:16 next collapse

Imagine being unable to finance a sub-$100 purchase and having to pay for the entire thing in one go. Will the horrors never stop? Be better, America.

papertowels@lemmy.one on 12 Jun 03:16 next collapse

effectively require a dedicated purchase. Rather than giving the kid yoru old motorola you kept in the drawer.

Ah right, because smartphones don’t need to be purchased

Alteon@lemmy.world on 12 Jun 13:59 collapse

A Light Phone or Light phone 2 is capable of doing literally everything you need from a smart phone without the bloat and distraction. It’s legitimate with most service providers as well.

There’s viable options out there that aren’t “flip phones”.

NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip on 12 Jun 14:16 collapse

Light phones also cost 300-800 (!?!?!) USD and aren’t carried by phone providers who give people “a free upgrade” every few years.

Yes, there are the parents who buy their toddler a flagship iphone. The vast majority are just taking the phone they were totally going to recycle that has been living in the junk drawer for years and give it to their kid for emergencies and fortnite.

Alteon@lemmy.world on 12 Jun 16:51 collapse

They can be used on each of the following carrier’s: AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon (except for prepaid plans and Number Share), Ting, Mint, US Mobile.

So, I’m not sure what you mean by providers who give “free upgrades”…

It’s cheaper than most smart phones and does everything you need it to do without games and social media.

NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip on 12 Jun 17:00 collapse

The vast majority of phone providers (in the US at least, which is where this is pertinent) have heavily subsidized phones if you agree to an N-month contract. And while the price of that can come out worse, it is also a lot easier for underprivileged people to spend an extra few bucks a month for two years than to set aside that money to make the couple hundred dollar purchase (for better or for worse).

And if you are willing to actually talk to a CSR you can often get the price to pay off that phone completely negated. Which IS good if that phone plan is good for you.

To my knowledge, Light does not partner with any of the major carriers so that is not an option. So you are buying those phones, regardless.

The Internet loves to build this strawman of a first grader who has the latest top end iphone. And… some of those do exist. But mostly it is parents getting a phone either “for free” or actually for free because they agree to not leave Verizon or whatever for 2 years and giving the old one to their kid.

afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world on 11 Jun 22:50 collapse

And so do AR-15s.

PhlubbaDubba@lemm.ee on 11 Jun 23:30 next collapse

I mean, you could get social media companies to turn posting off during school hours, that’d sure take the wind out of the sales of most of the most blatant things students do when they pull their phones out in class

Little derps get their news from that shit anyways, let’s treat it the same as the 24 hour news cycle crisis and just make the companies stop for the parts of the day where people need most to be focusing on other shit. No airwaves, no airwaves occupying everyone’s eyeballs and sending them into doomscroll mode.

Honestly that could be a pretty good gimmick for a new social media company in general, you can write, snap, record, photograph whatever, BUT all posts publish in the morning or evening “editions” and comments are open for 2 hours after (you can go back and comment on old posts), I feel like it could be an artificial scarcity thing, if people only have limited time when they can use the platform in a day, they’ll make the most of that time whenever they’re able.

NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip on 12 Jun 00:04 collapse

Got it. Fuck the “little derps”. Their blood makes great gun lube, huh?

ANYTHING to prevent people from actually approaching the real problem of the mass availability of firearms that puts children in a situation where they need to be able to say goodbye to their parents before they are sacrificed to the altar of the AR-15.

PhlubbaDubba@lemm.ee on 12 Jun 00:44 collapse

Nobody’s talking about giving guns the Elizabeth Baathory skincare regime but you chief.

But sure, kids being restricted to call text and messaging during school hours is EXACTLY the same as just asking them to line up against the wall for the shooter.

iltoroargento@lemmy.sdf.org on 11 Jun 23:35 next collapse

You understand that a lot of communication in that scenario can, at worst, lead to crucial misinformation about what’s going on and, at best, is unnecessary, don’t you?

Obviously, these shootings happen, but the solution is not to arm each student with a cell phone, just as it sure as hell isn’t to arm each teacher with a firearm.

The detrimental effects of cell phone usage in the classroom are well documented and plain as day if you just walk into a high school or middle school lesson. Even with highly engaging teachers and lessons, there are kids who slip through the cracks because nobody can compete with the newest fad app designed to melt a child’s brain and possibly drain their parent’s bank accounts.

This move addresses a significant issue within our school system. Addressing gun violence in the US is a very complex issue that needs to be tackled through a lot of different fronts. Kids having smart phones in school will not address that issue.

NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip on 12 Jun 00:02 next collapse

Obviously, these shootings happen, but the solution is not to arm each student with a cell phone, just as it sure as hell isn’t to arm each teacher with a firearm.

You’re right. The solution is fucking gun control. Not isolating those kids out of fear that they might give the cops misinformation and there won’t e a safe space to play flappy bird while children are being executed.

So how about you shut the fuck up about how it is more important to isolate the kids than to protect them? Hmm?

iltoroargento@lemmy.sdf.org on 12 Jun 00:21 next collapse

Lol isolating kids? They’re at school… If someone needs to get information out, there are already channels of communication.

Hope you have a better day.

Edit:

The need for gun control in the US is absolutely dire from any and all perspectives of public health, from school shootings to suicide.

The effect smart phones have had on our students is significant and must be addressed as many kids are not learning in the classroom.

Both of these things are true. Both must be addressed.

Fedizen@lemmy.world on 12 Jun 17:37 collapse

I think flip/dumb phones are still allowed with most smartphone bans, are you suggesting this one is different?

I think this is less about isolating kids than it is separating them from distracting and addictive apps.

Also it creates a class distinction in schools - some kids don’t have them causing them to be socially isolated

Personally I think the schools should be handing out locked down wifi phones to students without smart phones. But I don’t think any part of this is about isolating students.

wagoner@infosec.pub on 12 Jun 01:36 collapse

Would you allow the children to have a cell phone in school so they can say goodbye to their parents before they are shot to death? Seems a fair concession vs the apparent need to prevent the kids from spreading misinformation about a gunman roaming the school.

iltoroargento@lemmy.sdf.org on 12 Jun 02:45 next collapse

What’s with the fetishization of school shootings in this thread?

This whole argument is weird. Kids don’t need smart phones in school. Is your argument that we should let kids have smart phones so they can call their parents if there is ever a school shooting? Do you think every kid should be prepared for imminent death at all times in the classroom? What’s the actual argument?

I’m stating that smart phones are a net negative to any learning environment and there are already effective modes of communication within schools.

wagoner@infosec.pub on 12 Jun 21:19 collapse

I was responding to the point being made that smartphones are a detriment during a school shooting due to students sharing misinformation.

laurelraven@lemmy.blahaj.zone on 12 Jun 05:58 collapse

At that point, take your kids out of school if you’re that worried about them being able to say goodbye.

During the 99.99999999% of the time the school isn’t being shot up, the goal is for the kids to learn. Even with as many school shootings as we have now, the odds of your kids being in one is still incredibly small. Way higher than it should be, but ensuring the kids are getting quality education is still the top priority on a day to day basis.

ikidd@lemmy.world on 12 Jun 03:16 next collapse

This wasn’t possible 10 years ago so why does it matter today?

Besides, the cops are just going to arrest you if you try to go in, they have to stand outside and let the shooter play themselves out shooting your kids before they’ll let anyone in.

datavoid@lemmy.ml on 12 Jun 05:17 next collapse

You know there were smart phones in 2014 right?

Mr_Dr_Oink@lemmy.world on 12 Jun 06:32 collapse

Im 36 and i often forget that the 90s were about 20-30 years ago. I forget im not 20 sometimes, until i throw my back out.

If I had to guess, they meant to say something like 25 years ago.

Or not. Im not them, i dont know.

Maggoty@lemmy.world on 13 Jun 11:31 collapse

The 90’s were just last decade and there’s this exciting new politician running for president called Obama.

pulaskiwasright@lemmy.ml on 15 Jun 14:29 collapse

Vaccines didn’t exist 200 years ago, so why should we allow them today?

EatATaco@lemm.ee on 12 Jun 10:54 collapse

The problem with this position is that your child being a victim of a school shooting is extremely rare. Phones are ubiquitous. You’re trading the risk of something that will likely not happen to any one student (and won’t really help anything anyway), for a near guaranteed risk of serious damage to many kids education.

scarabic@lemmy.world on 13 Jun 16:05 collapse

I actually have a child, unlike some of the people downvoting you, and I agree with you. I’m not willing to watch my kid’s educational environment destroyed by smartphones all for the sake of some “but muh child” panic. My kid doesn’t even own a smartphone. Anyone want to tell me that I’m somehow risking their life? If there’s a shooter at their school, me knowing what’s happening in real time will not save their life.

As a footnote, the top commenter hinted that if someday we could solve the gun / danger thing, THEN we could remove smartphones. But the reality is that that panic will never be satisfied. There will never come a point when people say “I’m content that there are no dangers to my child during the day.”

Ban fucking phones in class. Maybe it’s just me living through my whole childhood without one just fine, but ffs people don’t even see how addicted to them we’ve become. Kids deserve a chance at at least a few years of life without that.

SaltySalamander@fedia.io on 11 Jun 22:23 next collapse

I'm 100% in favor of this move. If parents really need their kid to have a phone at school, get them a basic flip phone.

smokin_shinobi@lemmy.world on 11 Jun 23:13 collapse

You’re free to parent your own children however you like.

admin@lemmy.my-box.dev on 12 Jun 04:11 collapse

As long as it’s within the legal limits where you live.

blazera@lemmy.world on 11 Jun 22:48 next collapse

The ability to search for answers online is important for learning

iltoroargento@lemmy.sdf.org on 11 Jun 23:27 next collapse

Doesn’t need to be on a phone.

blazera@lemmy.world on 12 Jun 00:30 collapse

But it is on phones, conveniently accessible.

iltoroargento@lemmy.sdf.org on 12 Jun 00:56 collapse

I mean that students can access that capability through a plethora of district provided resources. In the US, nearly every classroom has a fleet of laptops. Students don’t need to use a device that lets them screw around and goof off anymore than that lol

I agree that there is some benefit for classrooms without that technology, but, honestly, it’s more detrimental to the students’ mental health and learning process, regardless.

Most kids in middle and many in high school cannot psychologically handle/manage using their cell phone appropriately in class. We can’t expect them to. They’re kids. They take pictures of each other without permission (usually, generally, innocent, but sometimes not), they spend hours of instructional time scrolling inane crap on Instagram or Twitter or whatever, or they straight up play fortnite all class.

Most of these kids have not yet been equipped with the media and tech literacy skills they need to make good choices regarding their technology. This comes down to the inherent lag time in the field of education and while we began addressing this over the last few years, a lot of kids have been raised by smartphones more than they have been by their parents.

Until that connection between student and smart phone is treated with greater respect and understanding, which will take a massive culture shift, kids don’t need to access phones in class.

blazera@lemmy.world on 12 Jun 01:33 collapse

When i hear about social media hurting mental health i remember my time through school, before social media was a thing. The amounts are anecdotal of course, but all the same issues were definitely present. Bullying and harassment, body image problems, relationship problems, rumors and gossip and classism and bigotry. Social media is just another form of human interaction, human interaction itself can get ugly.

iltoroargento@lemmy.sdf.org on 12 Jun 02:53 collapse

Social media use is related to classroom distractions, but I’d say it is it’s own can of worms that needs to be addressed.

The issue is both with scope and amplification of persistent issues like those you mentioned as well as the detached nature of communication over these apps or just on the internet in general.

Human interactions are definitely ugly and awkward at times, especially between kids as they try to make sense of their world. The increased amount/prevalence of these opportunities for communication through an algorithmic lens that perpetuates unrealistic societal expectations and is designed to keep the user constantly engaged both take a greater toll on mental health and distract people (adults included) from the task at hand or reality in general.

QuarterSwede@lemmy.world on 12 Jun 01:16 next collapse

At a certain age/level I agree. However, they aren’t needed or helpful in basic low level grades where you’re teaching the framework to build upon.

best_username_ever@sh.itjust.works on 12 Jun 05:38 collapse

Reading books worked fine for a few thousand years.

LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world on 12 Jun 06:06 collapse

If I used books for answers at work I’d be without a job pretty quick. It’s a slow antiquated technique. I don’t think kids need to look up answers on cell phones at school, but it would be smart to educate students how to use tools/resources that they will need and use in their daily lives.

The number of books that these students will reference in the their future careers in minimal. The number of phones/computer based systems is high.

If you are just teaching kids to regurgitate text from a textbook at this point they will forever be behind any LLM that exists. They need to learn to use information, quickly, and how to source it from reliable sources.

afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world on 11 Jun 22:54 next collapse

capitolhillseattle.com/…/police-investigate-shoot…

5 days ago. Glad they have their priorities straight.

WanderingVentra@lemm.ee on 11 Jun 23:14 next collapse

Every teacher I know is happy with this move. Personally, I think kids could do fine with a flip phone. Maybe this will bring them back more on the market, too.

bibliotectress@lemmy.world on 12 Jun 01:40 collapse

I work in a high school in a California school district where they’re discussing banning cell phones.

Most teachers I’ve talked to about it think it’s really fucking stupid because you’re not going to be able to ban them, partly because a TON of parents showed up at the school board meeting to say they would send them with their kid anyway for a variety of reasons. The board also talked about different things they could buy to take phones and lock them up during class or as students come in. Most of the solutions were pretty expensive, and some of the schools are literally falling apart, so that also pissed people off.

A great start would be to have a campus-wide rule that is CONSISTENT. Some teachers give out a detention if they even see the phone. Some do activities with QR codes and use them as tools. Some have boxes on the corner of their desk and students are required to keep their phone in the box so the teacher can see if they reach for it. We have students with free periods, and if they don’t go home, they hang out outside around campus or in the library. Should phones be banned then too? Or just during class?

There are so many ways to try to deal with it, and at least in my school (not even the district as a whole), every teacher deals with it differently. I doubt the state of New York is all that different.

WanderingVentra@lemm.ee on 12 Jun 03:22 collapse

That makes sense, too. Admittedly, my circle of teachers I know may be less than yours, but the ones I know seemed very exasperated with them. What do you sense a good, consistent rule would be?

bibliotectress@lemmy.world on 12 Jun 05:47 collapse

Honestly, I’m at a loss. It’s so hard to get a single school of teachers to stick to one policy, let alone at a district or state level. When I send an all-staff email at my school (and they’re occasionally important with scheduling details), Outlook often tells me that only 67% of them even opened it.

I feel like you’d either have to: a) incorporate cellphones as a tool in class and have standard repercussions (e.g. 1st/2nd time earn a detention, 3rd time earn a Saturday school) for kids texting/on social media, or b) do something like a box on the desk so it’s visible but they can’t touch it.

I just don’t think it’s possible to ban them at school. Too many parents don’t respect any school authority figures after COVID with all the culture war stuff (fight to return to full day school, fight to not wear masks, fight to censor bipoc and lgbtq+ books/lessons/celebrations, etc.). I think either way, it’ll just end up being another shitty part of a teacher’s job.

WanderingVentra@lemm.ee on 12 Jun 15:18 collapse

It’s a tough job =(

henfredemars@infosec.pub on 11 Jun 23:52 next collapse

Given the current legal climate, this really isn’t terrible. At least there are some benefits.

LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world on 12 Jun 05:58 collapse

Taking away freedoms for some possible benefits. The patriot act would like a word

Drummyralf@lemmy.world on 12 Jun 06:30 next collapse

Early testsresults in the Netherlands have shown great succes. Less cyber bullying, more socializing by students, and better engagement in classroom. The students actually prefer it too.

I thought it was stupid too, but I’ve come around to it. A box full of dopamine hits is not for teenagers to decide wether they can interact with it or not.

henfredemars@infosec.pub on 12 Jun 12:16 collapse

Out of curiosity would you argue against compulsory education?

[deleted] on 13 Jun 06:08 collapse

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RiikkaTheIcePrincess@pawb.social on 12 Jun 00:28 next collapse

Gross! Couldn’t even let schools decide, somehow it’s important to ban them state-wide? Piss off.

RazorsLedge@lemmy.world on 12 Jun 01:16 next collapse

Yes, education is important, and this would spare every single school the intense battle vs parents to do the right thing.

QuarterSwede@lemmy.world on 12 Jun 01:17 collapse

The state is responsible for the education of children. This absolutely falls within their scope.

Dark_Arc@social.packetloss.gg on 12 Jun 03:32 collapse

A state wide mono-culture based on an unsolved cultural issue isn’t “education” it’s inherently heavy handed.

It also actively harms schools that may be trying to teach students how to use cell phones productively in their lives to help them solve problems rather than pretending as though they don’t exist.

best_username_ever@sh.itjust.works on 12 Jun 05:36 next collapse

schools teach how to use cell phones

If you were serious, your country is in deep shit.

LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world on 12 Jun 05:56 next collapse

You can’t get/keep many jobs without one here, so it would make sense that being able to have/use one should be part of the education for said jobs.

I haven’t a job in ~7+ years that didn’t require 2 factor applications on personal devices to be able to access company resources such as email, elevated security accounts, VPN connections, etc.

Dark_Arc@social.packetloss.gg on 12 Jun 13:08 collapse

Ahh yes, hostile partial quoting to make my country seem unintelligent; welcome to my block list.

admin@lemmy.my-box.dev on 12 Jun 10:23 collapse

How it’s handled in countries such as Norway or The Netherlands is that those kinds of classes are exempt from the ban. It’s not a hard issue to solve.

Dark_Arc@social.packetloss.gg on 12 Jun 13:07 next collapse

Part of that is teaching people how to control their impulses and stay on task.

Your workspace isn’t going to have you hang your phone up on the wall somewhere when you come into work and have someone tell you “now is the time to use your phone.”

College isn’t going to do it either.

We also could take some cues that maybe this isn’t all as serious as we make it out to be. My high school back in the 2010s gave us a ton of busy work, insisted on making it effectively mandatory if you wanted a decent grade, didn’t let people go to the bathroom without asking permission and using a sign out sheet, insisted every second of every lesson was crucial, and was very strict about not pulling out your cell phone basically ever (kids still snuck texts here and there).

I see more merits for small children, but in general I’m strongly in favor of radical changes to how we approach education … because learning should be fun but is not for so many people … and we forget so much of what we’ve been “taught” anyways.

Maggoty@lemmy.world on 13 Jun 11:41 collapse

So that’s in this bill right?

Right?

admin@lemmy.my-box.dev on 13 Jun 14:59 collapse

Beats me, I don’t live in the US.

I stand corrected. It doesn’t include that as far as we know, on account of the bill not existing yet, not even in draft form. If you don’t mind, I’m going to ignore everything else you say now.

Maggoty@lemmy.world on 13 Jun 15:28 collapse

It’s not. This is boomer reactionary garbage. Right up there with video games causing crime.

admin@lemmy.my-box.dev on 13 Jun 15:33 collapse

Sure thing, bud. So far all the studies disagree with you, though.

Maggoty@lemmy.world on 13 Jun 22:47 collapse

Unless you’re talking about treating smart phones like cigarettes it’s not going to work the way you think it is though.

But no instead she’s going to try and make parents buy another phone to send to school with their kids and do what with 800 dollar smart phones? What’s the enforcement mechanism?

Are you ready for all the stories of the government confiscating expensive hardware from kids?

And for what gain? The second the kids are out of school the smart phones will come out again. So the only advantage is inside the school itself and we already have policies that deal with that.

This ban, especially being placed into state law, doesn’t have anywhere good to go and is just going to be the modern DARE program, teaching kids the rules don’t matter.

boatsnhos931@lemmy.world on 12 Jun 01:02 next collapse

LOL good luck with that guys

scottywh@lemmy.world on 12 Jun 01:29 next collapse

I don’t understand how a state governor can “introduce” a bill.

Isn’t that the legislature’s job?

EatATaco@lemm.ee on 12 Jun 10:49 collapse

Anyone can introduce a bill, including you. Only the legislature’s vote on it counts.

admin@lemmy.my-box.dev on 12 Jun 04:07 next collapse

If you’re more worried about your kid at school getting shot than them getting distracted during their education, You might be the one living in a shit hole country.

LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world on 12 Jun 05:50 collapse

I believe in educating kids to know how to ignore distractions. The phone will be there in every work/life situation and will be a tool used to get them further in their careers and life in general. It’s stupid to let them use them openly during class… It’s also stupid to make legislation about them. Notice we don’t have country wide dress codes for schools. Just legislation that says when such codes have gone to far. Banning students from having items they carry daily is just a stupid over abuse of power being instated for what reason? Failed parenting and failed educators?

You text during class you get told to stop, happens again you get detention/thrown out of class/sent to the dean and eventually thrown out of the school. Always was that way. No need for laws around it.

EatATaco@lemm.ee on 12 Jun 10:46 collapse

You text during class you get told to stop, happens again you get detention/thrown out of class/sent to the dean and eventually thrown out of the school. Always was that way. No need for laws around it.

It’s more complicated. Teachers can’t take away the phone because it’s an expensive piece of property and it opens all kinds of doors for the school being liable if it goes missing or gets broken. Not to mention if something does happen, the parents might sue the school.

And we aren’t talking about mere distractions, but things designed to keep kids addicted to them. You’re pitting school teachers and admins trying to get kids to pay attention to something often found as boring, against billion dollar businesses pushing punping money into keeping and grabbing kid’s attention. Plus having kids miss school because of a cell phone just doesn’t make sense, especially if the parents are pushing the kid to bring it.

The law just makes it clear and reduces liability for the school, and it’s better for kids.

I wish the world were the way our describe it, and that would work. But it doesn’t.

technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com on 12 Jun 15:15 next collapse

Teachers can’t shouldn’t take away the phone because it’s an expensive piece of property and … the school being is liable… Not to mention if something does happen, the parents might should sue the school. The law just makes it clear this legal and reduces liability for the school, and it’s better for as usual kids are told it’s better for them to be controlled and lack agency.

FTFY.

things designed to keep kids addicted to them

You really think that’s what electronic engineers do?

[deleted] on 13 Jun 06:25 next collapse

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dezmd@lemmy.world on 13 Jun 11:51 collapse

You pretty obviously don’t know what you’re talking about, almost every class my children have been in for middle school and high school had the children commit to not using their smartphone and sent home a slip to be signed by parents acknowledging that the phones will be taken away and have to be picked up by a parent if they become a distraction for the student. They include similar language in the school student handbook as well.

This law is just ridiculous authoritative nonsense, being used to score a victory for political marketing purposes.

EatATaco@lemm.ee on 13 Jun 12:56 collapse

Agreements and enforcement are two different things. Have you talked to any teachers about how this plays out?

southsamurai@sh.itjust.works on 12 Jun 06:32 next collapse

It’s dumb as fuck.

Hate it if we want (and I have major problems with how young phones and similar devices become glued to kids), but they’re here to stay. They’re a part of modern life, and trying to completely ban them is the most idiotic waste of time and resources possible.

You gotta find a way to limit use in a consistent and evenly applied way so that parents and school staff are all on the same page. Then you just keep enforcing the rules amd explaining them over and over. Eventually, it becomes a manageable annoyance instead of the chaos it currently is

EatATaco@lemm.ee on 12 Jun 10:48 next collapse

so that parents and school staff are all on the same page.

That’s the problem, they aren’t on the same page. Teachers and admins have to live in the reality of kids having these devices in school, while parents just live in the anxiety of the very rare “what if something happens?”

njm1314@lemmy.world on 13 Jun 17:16 collapse

A lot of things are here to say that you don’t bring to school.

HipsterTenZero@dormi.zone on 12 Jun 14:36 next collapse

This sucks, because smartphones could be such fantastic tools in a classroom. Not that I’m under the illusion that they’re being used in any sort of productive way (or even would be), I was once a kid scrolling through shitposts and memes in class. But having all of the textbooks in one place, the ability to record lectures and whiteboards for later review, and automated schedule management would’ve definitely made my high school education a lot smoother.

nifty@lemmy.world on 12 Jun 17:12 next collapse

Yeah, and there are some analytical apps for smartphone cameras and sensors, like measuring physio with accel or gyro. But I guess that’s okay to include as a part of a course and not really needed for rest of the school day

UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world on 13 Jun 16:18 next collapse

The other side of the coin on this. Cell phones as day planners are invaluable. So kids who have spent their lives organizing their schedules on digital calendars are being told “Oops! Sorry. You can’t use that anymore. We caught someone else using it incorrectly.”

Incidentally, I’m old enough to remember how every graphing calculator in the school had video games installed on them and half my class carried a gameboy someone on their persons. This is going to be pure wack-a-mole as a policy. Selectively enforced, with lots of high profile punishments for minor infractions and inevitably highly intrusive misconduct by individual teachers and principles. Richer, whiter students will almost certainly be exempted from the policy through loopholes. Poorer, blacker students will be shoved even more forcefully through the School To Prison Pipeline. Cops will inevitably get involved in the worst possible way.

And all of this will be sold as a means of “reducing distractions”.

flames5123@lemmy.world on 13 Jun 18:46 collapse

Yea, I had my phone taken a few times in school. It’s fine.

But I was programming on my calculator more. My history teacher was the only one to say anything about it since it was very distracting for me. But he never took it.

TheGalacticVoid@lemm.ee on 13 Jun 17:10 collapse

When using the right tools, phones are already incredibly powerful in an educational environment. There’s a reason why Kahoot achieved meme status: it’s because students love it.

mctoasterson@reddthat.com on 12 Jun 14:44 next collapse

A lot of public school districts now provide laptops or Chromebooks to the students to use during class while doing… let’s say…minimal oversight at best.

So most of the same inappropriate garbage behaviors and distractions will just be offloaded from the personal phone to the school device.

technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com on 12 Jun 15:12 next collapse

What a creep. Instead of making NYC safer for kids by reducing cars, she’s making school more of an authoritarian prison.

phoenixz@lemmy.ca on 12 Jun 15:20 collapse

Authoritarian prison? Calm down. All place have rules, schools are to learn, not to be on your phone all the time. We were without mobile phones for Millenia and now that they’re here you’re acting as if you can’t live without one.

Yes, you can live without your mobile phone and if you think you can’t then this new law is exactly for you

phoenixz@lemmy.ca on 12 Jun 15:18 next collapse

Great,I fully support this

Schools should be places to learn, not to be distracted by continuous alerts from phone addicted children

CoggyMcFee@lemmy.world on 13 Jun 15:47 collapse

I fully support this as long as they put the pay phones back in the schools so kids can call their parents when they need to

fiercekitten@lemm.ee on 13 Jun 16:13 collapse

A school shouldn’t make kids pay to call their legal guardian. Make phone calls free.

RandomGuy79@lemmy.world on 13 Jun 17:30 next collapse

Yeah nah i went to the office asked to call my mom and go home like a man

CoggyMcFee@lemmy.world on 13 Jun 20:19 collapse

Either way, there should some way to do it without having to go to the main office and ask to use their phone or something. When I was a kid we had payphones, back when it cost a dime.

Fedizen@lemmy.world on 12 Jun 17:24 next collapse

smartphones are a distraction in schools. The teachers shouldn’t have them either, tbh

Maggoty@lemmy.world on 13 Jun 11:22 next collapse

Is she going to ban hats next? Put in a law telling students exactly how they can decorate their lockers?

Surely there are more pressing things to be legislated?

Soulcreator@lemmy.world on 13 Jun 12:02 collapse

As someone who went through the NY public school system many years ago, I can confirm hats were/are hard banned. Like unless it was for religious reasons you really couldn’t even think about putting something on your head.

Cell phones were also banned in my youth but I guess times have changed?

Maggoty@lemmy.world on 13 Jun 13:01 collapse

Oh yes, but by the school. Not the law. We have elected positions specifically for figuring out how schools should teach children. Also top down negative mandates about clothes are already borderline abuses of power. We want laws preventing admins from going overboard, not mega bans in state law.

meliaesc@lemmy.world on 13 Jun 13:03 collapse

The research showing the impact of cellphones during class outweighs an individual’s opinion. This has nothing to do with fashion and can’t be compared to hats or locker decorations.

Maggoty@lemmy.world on 13 Jun 13:08 next collapse

It’s no different than sleeping through class or just doodling and ignoring the teacher. If the kid can’t not have their phone out then they get banished to the back of the class. If they play noise they get sent to the office, just like disruptive kids in every generation.

meliaesc@lemmy.world on 13 Jun 13:22 next collapse

Let’s give them a suspension, send them to their lead painted home with a pack of smokes, just like every generation.

Maggoty@lemmy.world on 13 Jun 15:03 collapse

Okay Mr modest proposal.

EatATaco@lemm.ee on 13 Jun 13:44 collapse

It’s no different than sleeping through class or just doodling and ignoring the teacher.

And there you have it folks, doodling is the same as these social media apps designed to be addictive that also lead to all kinds of bullying and social anxieties and harassment.

Maggoty@lemmy.world on 13 Jun 15:01 collapse

I’m sorry, you think banning smartphones at school is going to stop cyber bullying? Because bullies infamously follow the rules and kids are at school 24/7?

admin@lemmy.my-box.dev on 13 Jun 15:37 next collapse

Stop? No. But results so far have shown a decrease.

Maggoty@lemmy.world on 13 Jun 23:00 collapse

Not really according to the New York Times. It’s mixed at best. And it doesn’t make sense either. Bullies are more than capable of breaking the rules. The only thing that actually works here is that victims may not see the messages until after school. That’s certainly not going to stop all of the other ways phones are used to coordinate bullying though. So now they get bullied all day still and taunted all night still.

The problem with cyber bullying is that there’s no breaks in the bullying anymore. You used to be able to go home and relax before going back into it at school. So until schools actually go after bullies instead of supporting them against their victims this is useless.

EatATaco@lemm.ee on 13 Jun 15:52 collapse

You said it was the same as doodling. I responded to that. All that other stuff you added was just fabricated in your own head.

ipkpjersi@lemmy.ml on 13 Jun 18:51 next collapse

I believe his point was that if students want to find a way to be distracted, they will - with or without cellphones. I know I certainly was able to distract myself with doodling lol

EatATaco@lemm.ee on 13 Jun 19:24 collapse

It’s not about finding a way to be distracted, it’s about having a device that’s filled with shit that’s meant to be addictive distracting you whether you are seeking it out or not.

Maggoty@lemmy.world on 13 Jun 23:36 collapse

Was this you?

<img alt="" src="https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/6034b6cf-b76e-40da-b1c9-6d5a1946c39b.png">

EatATaco@lemm.ee on 13 Jun 23:54 collapse

I was me, yes.

Maggoty@lemmy.world on 14 Jun 08:08 collapse

So you did in fact say the problem was actually cyber bullying.

EatATaco@lemm.ee on 14 Jun 10:07 collapse

No, I did not.

UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world on 13 Jun 16:08 collapse

The research showing the impact of cellphones during class outweighs an individual’s opinion.

More broadly, any kind of in-class interruption can hurt academic performance. This same logic has been applied to dress codes, speech constraints (most famously Bong Hits for Jesus), and behavioral edicts.

But this wack-a-mole strategy of prohibitions isn’t championed because it is particularly effective. There’s always some new distraction in the classroom you can chase after next. The strategy is championed because its cheap. Banning cell phones has very little budgeted cost as a public policy. By contrast, reducing class sizes and providing more hands-on learning opportunities and hiring/retaining highly educated teachers has an enormous price tag.

Nevermind which strategy has a proven history of increased student performance. We just need to keep locking enormous pools of children in tiny windowless classrooms and throwing increasingly byzantine standardized tests at them, then chasing any student who produces a “distraction” from this mind-numbing educational policy.

Silentiea@lemmy.blahaj.zone on 13 Jun 17:04 collapse

Yes. It’s the children who are wrong.

UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world on 13 Jun 18:27 collapse

<img alt="" src="https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/ebc2aec2-d474-4ede-8a08-39047b954d0f.jpeg">

ichbinjasokreativ@lemmy.world on 13 Jun 17:22 next collapse

I’m torn on this. Allow them and let natural selection take its course, or force students to pay attention, which I would’ve hated as a kid.

MehBlah@lemmy.world on 13 Jun 17:26 next collapse

Good idea. Its of the main reason why education today is faltering. Allowing too many screen in the class room is simply a bad idea. These kids have the no ability to stay focused in any way. They way they learn guarantees many will never learn to read without a screen and the internet. I see it often in my current job.

RandomGuy79@lemmy.world on 13 Jun 17:29 next collapse

Good. We already did that here.

yildolw@lemmy.world on 13 Jun 18:08 next collapse

Ontario has now passed two different bills banning cell phones in school. It’s a great distraction from actual problems. I fully expect we’ll pass a third in a few years if our provincial government is re-elected

Teachers don’t need a sheet of paper at a legislature somewhere to take away cellphones. They can do that already, and if the kids disobey a legislature won’t help. I assume no one is expecting kids to go to prison for having a cellphone

z00s@lemmy.world on 13 Jun 18:39 collapse

The key thing is that teachers can ban phones in their individual classrooms if the school permits it.

There are many schools in which the senior admin don’t institute phone bans (you’d be surprised how common this is).

Legislating it helps maintain consistency and parity between schools nation wide, which is important as it’s a quality of education issue, so the policy should be consistent across all schools.

I’m not from North America, but the situation is similar across most western democracies.

pulaskiwasright@lemmy.ml on 13 Jun 18:57 next collapse

This so government overreach. Let the teachers and school admin decide. There no need to get the state government involved.

umbrella@lemmy.ml on 13 Jun 18:58 next collapse

they could have incorporated similar tech to teach children better. or we could figure out why class is so boring when the subjects can be so interesting. kids clearly want and would clearly benefit from the integration of this tech.

but nooo lets ban phones instead because we want things to stay like they were 40 years ago and is not much work.

moon@lemmy.cafe on 16 Jun 00:30 collapse

“I have seen these addictive algorithms pull in young people, literally capture them and make them prisoners in a space where they are cut off from human connection, social interaction and normal classroom activity”

Literally? What kind of devices is she using that have these cyborg powers, and why am I just hearing about this now? Shit, mine just has cringe teens dancing.