By Denise Bacon
Recent experience from working at various high schools has highlighted that most students walk around with cell phones in their hands at most times. Walking down hallways can be risky with many students looking down at their screens while navigating through other similarly distracted students in-between classes. The cafeterias, too, have students sitting in groups, yet many looking at their cellphones.
Cell phones are also very prevalent in classrooms. Even though some schools and individual teachers have policies about the use of cell phones in classes, it is quite a struggle for students to put their phones away when they need to focus on school work. The attraction of the cell phone is often too great for students to resist. Students get caught up with online games, including online gambling, and scrolling through social media sites.
This experience made me reflect on the use of my own cell phone. Am I addicted to it? Or, more accurately, am I addicted to the various applications that draw my attention to my device?
Here’s an excerpt from a recent media release from the Toronto District School Board which speaks to this addiction:
“On March 28, 2024, Toronto District School Board, together with the Toronto Catholic District School Board, Peel District School Board and Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, announced a lawsuit against tech giants Meta Platforms Inc. (Facebook and Instagram), Snap Inc. (SnapChat), and ByteDance Ltd. (TikTok) for disruption to the education system. We allege that these companies have negligently designed and marketed addictive products that have disrupted our Board’s mandate to enhance student achievement and well-being.”
This really got me thinking about the classic signs of traditional substance or behaviour addictions to alcohol, smoking, drugs (legal and illicit) and gambling. I wondered if these signs apply to cell phone addiction, and I put this idea across to a group of students. I challenged them to consider where they are along these signs every time they reach for their phones.
These are the 4 Cs of addiction with their own variations: Craving, Compulsion, Choice (lack of choice/loss of control), and Consequence. The consequence for students is that cell phone addiction can inhibit not just their academic achievement and well-being now, it can also affect their long-term success since brains are still developing until young people are 25 years of age.
The Ontario Ministry of Education announced on April 28, 2024 an updated provincial Code of Conduct regarding the restrictions around use of cell phones at school to promote better focus and learning for students while in class. Boards of Education in Ontario will be required to set up enforceable policies to support this Code of Conduct. ontario.ca/page/cellphones-and-other-mobile-devices-schools
The new policies are required to be in place for the start of the school year in September 2024.
Students in Grade 7 and above may not use mobile devices during class time except in certain cases at the discretion of their teacher. This restriction applies to all mobile devices.
Students in Grade 6 and below may not use mobile devices at school during the school day, except in certain cases at the discretion of a teacher.