Page 24 - ARUBA TODAY

A24 TECHNOLOGY
Monday 10 June 2019

Schools reckon with social stress: ‘I’m on my phone so much’

By CAROLYN THOMPSON shift toward constant self-
Associated Press evaluation that he asso-
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — High ciates with social media,
school biology teacher YouTube, and even school
Kelly Chavis knew smart- grade portals sometimes
phones were a distraction checked dozens of times a
in her class. But not even day — things students have
her students realized the never before had to man-
psychological toll of their age.
devices until an in-class ex- Awareness of other peo-
periment that, of course, ple’s lives, even their pri-
was then spreading on so- vate lives, is “kind of hy-
cial media. per right now,” Doyle said.
For one class period, stu- “And I don’t think that usu-
dents used a whiteboard ally leaves most people
to tally every Snapchat, In- feeling good, because no-
stagram, text, call or other body’s perfect and most
notification that popped kids feel very imperfect.”
up. Teachers around the But putting the genie back
country have run similar ex- in the bottle isn’t easy.
periments, typically record- In Illinois, Glenbrook High
ing dozens of trips to the Schools District 225 experi-
board. mented with limiting teens’
“One girl, just during the access to their grades on a
one hour, got close to 150 digital portal. But for every
Snapchat notifications. student who said the grade
150!” marveled Chavis, book caused them anxi-
who teaches honors-level ety, there was another who
courses at Rock Hill Schools said losing regular access
in South Carolina. created even more stress,
She’s among a growing said instructional innova-
number of teachers, par- tion director Ryan Bretag.
ents, medical professionals “I definitely feel stress with
and researchers convinced online profiles, social me-
that smartphones are now dia, to keep up, maintain
playing a major role in ac- my profiles and stuff,” said
celerating student anxiety Emily Mogavero, a 17-year-
— a trend so pervasive that old student in Buffalo, New
a National Education Asso- York. “It kind of worries me
ciation newsletter labelled that I’m on my phone so
anxiety a “mental health much.” Mogavero said she
tsunami .” sometimes puts her phone
Testing, extracurricular- In this Nov. 1, 2018, file photo, Laurel Foster, among teens involved in Stanford University research out of reach or powers it
packed schedules, and testing whether smartphones can be used to help detect depression and potential self-harm, down so she doesn’t hear
perpetual stressors like pov- holds her phone in San Francisco. notifications.
erty can all weigh on stu- Associated Press Teaching limits at an ear-
dents. But research now recommended that doc- they worry about the influ- When she first got a smart- lier age might help. Deirdre
points to smartphone-driv- tors ask adolescent pa- ence of social media on phone around seventh Birmingham of Montclair,
en social media as one of tients about their social me- their child’s physical and grade, all the posting, mes- New Jersey, signed onto
the biggest drivers of stress. dia use as part of routine mental health in the Ameri- saging and liking pushed a campaign called “Wait
After all, that’s where col- screening, alongside older can Psychological Associa- Nia Coates’ anxiety level to Until Eighth “ because
lege acceptance letters fill questions about home life tion’s 2017 Stress in America “probably a 10,” she said. she didn’t think her video
Instagram, everyone knows and drug and sexual activi- survey . Now a high school junior, game-loving 10-year-old
where everyone else is go- ty. “Aberrant and/or exces- Schools are starting to re- the Buffalo, New York, teen son was ready to manage
ing for spring break, and sive social media usage” act. Many districts now hire has figured out to manage a smartphone’s pull.
athletic failures and awk- could contribute to teen- outside companies to mon- the distractions. The idea, which got its start
ward social moments can age “feelings of isolation, itor students’ social media She’ll completely log out of in Texas two years ago, is to
live forever. depressive symptoms, and postings for signs of distress. her Snapchat, Instagram lessen the peer pressure of
Jean Twenge, a psychol- anxiety,” three researchers Others invite in yoga in- and Twitter, and sometimes being the only kid without a
ogy professor at San Diego wrote in the journal Pediat- structors and comfort dogs will delete an app alto- phone by enlisting parents
State who has studied the rics. to teach even the young- gether for a while. of classmates to agree to
issue, said it’s no coinci- Researchers are still arguing est kids to keep technol- Anxiety has taken over as hold off until at least eighth
dence that youth mental whether phones drive stu- ogy from putting them on the most significant obsta- grade. So far, almost 20,000
health issues have risen dent depression or depres- edge. cle to learning among Chris people have signed on,
with the number of phones. sion drives phone use. But Belfast Area High School Doyle’s high school students founder Brooke Shannon
“What a lot of teens told 70 percent of teens view in Maine even staged an at Avon Old Farms School said.
me is that social media and anxiety and depression as #unplugged event day in in Connecticut. Some rack “I had a gut level that it
their phones feel mandato- major problems among April — but it served to un- up absences because they would be difficult for my
ry,” she said. their peers , according to derline the technology’s feel overwhelmed by the child to manage,” Birming-
Last year, an editorial in a February Pew Research pull when less than 20 per- day ahead, Doyle said. ham said. “As a grown-up, I
the American Academy of Center report. Nearly 60 cent of students and staff A teacher for 30 years, find it difficult sometimes to
Pediatrics’ flagship journal percent of parents said took part. he has seen a profound manage.”q