Connected

 A recent study suggested that children under the age of thirteen could face serious health risks if they have a "smart phone." They are at higher risk of lack of sleep, obesity and depression, according to a  study published this past Monday in the journal Pediatrics. 

Nobody asked me. All the kids I teach are under the age of thirteen. Can I say with clinical certainty that those who show up to school sleepy, depressed and have little or no interest in PE are that way because of their cell phones? No, I cannot. I do have plenty of anecdotal evidence, such as the conversations I have had with drowsy kids in my classroom who volunteer tidbits like, "I stayed up late last night on my phone." I have seen more than my share of kids sitting in tight huddles on our playground, staring at their phones, even though they are prohibited from doing so by a school-wide rule. 

And the depression thing? Let's just say that cyberbullying is a real thing. Lines of communication among our pre-teens are made even more confounding by text, TikTok and Instagram. Like their adult counterparts, they don't want to miss out on anything, even if the thing they might miss will bring them fear and sadness. 

How do we teach kids that cell phone use can be harmful? By centering so much of our own waking life around such devices. The staff at our school carry walkie talkies that we use for emergencies and requests for wet cleanups, but more often than not, we send a text. Many of our interactions become distilled into emojis or clever gifs. Rather than walking out to the playground to check on a colleague, I could just as easily send them a smiley face. 

Then there are the lessons we can learn from kids. Watch them play. See them resolve a conflict with rock, paper, scissors. Be amazed when the blood feud that started before the bell rang is over before lunch. That's not something the current occupant of what's left of the White House can do.