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Op-Ed: Early results of banning mobile devices at school coming in

The dramatic increase in the use of handheld devices among children is an issue that still seems to divide psychologists, educators and parents. As one of the first and probably the loudest ones to criticize the trend, Cris Rowan gave 10 research-based reasons why parents should ban the use of digital technology for children under the age of 12.

Her article brought some harsh reactions by experts in different field, but the question of the influence of technology on children remained open.

Recently, however, a study by Centre for Economic Performance of the London School of Economics and Political Science shed a new light on the burning issue. Namely, the paper reveals that the use of mobile phones among students aged 11-16 at school premises negatively affects their performance. More specifically, the time spent looking at the screens equals to a whole week of schooling over an academic year per single student.

From this perspective, it seems logical to question not exactly the age when children should be allowed to start interacting with technology, but rather the time they should spend using it. Although the introduction of technology to the education setting is found to significantly improve students’ engagement, there clearly must be a limit to the time children and students spend in front of the screen.

According to the latest Pew Internet report, 24 percent of teens say they are “constantly online,” while 92 percent overall say they go online on a daily basis. This increase is empowered by technology that is getting smaller, more powerful and potentially more addictive. It appears that the border between technology use and overuse is critical to the discussion and could be an answer to the whole debate surrounding Rowan’s suggestion.

Namely, all the consequences she mentions — from obesity and mental illness to aggression and sleep deprivation — essentially stem from technology overuse and not from its very presence in our lives. Similarly, the study on the outcomes of mobile phone bans in schools may imply the time students spend using technology should be decreased for better results. By helping them balance their use of technology through an official ban, the schools may help preventing a negative impact it can have on either their personal or academic lives.

A similar view is offered in a recent research by Mobile Shop, which deals with the effects of both technology use and overuse, suggesting that a proper balance between the two need to be made in order to avoid the consequences. Undoubtedly, the extent to which students are exposed to digital technologies is huge and Rowan made some excellent points regarding the problem. Finally, there are some tangible results to prove that the whole debate hasn’t been entirely unjustified.

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