Social psychologist and author Jonathan Haidt recently predicted that American schools will have banned smartphones from classrooms by fall.
Haidt, whose recently published book “The Anxious Generation” made Americans aware of the harmful effects of smartphones and social media on their children, spoke to The Free Press (TFP) recently said that parents and educators are now taking this issue seriously and are pushing for a ban on the devices in schools.
“I think we will have the vast majority of schools in the United States phone-free,” Haidt told the newspaper, pointing to next September as the likely point by which schools will have banned smartphones.
ENTERTAINMENT INSIDER SAYS ESG FUNDING IS WHY WOKE ENTERTAINMENT IS CREATED DESPITE LOSSING AUDIENCE
Psychologist Jonathan Haidt recently spoke to The Free Press about how American schools want to ban smartphones from the classroom. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images))
The outlet’s report on Haidt’s influence began with a description of how schools have sought to limit students’ access to smartphones in recent years, with teachers concerned that the devices may have absorbed children’s attention in the classroom, a dynamic that they say stemmed from social isolation and virtual learning was spurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“They looked at me like I was just saying, ‘wah, wah, wah,’” Seaside School District teacher Suzanna Kruger told The Free Press as she described her students on their phones in class after a year of distance learning .
She added: ‘that most of the children in her class slept with their heads on their desks, wore headphones or did ‘dead-eye scroll’. through TikTok. And when she asked them to hand over their devices, she said most students simply ‘refused,’” the paper said.
When Kruger and other educators recognized the problem, Seaside and other school districts recently decided to ban the devices in schools.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE ABOUT MEDIA AND CULTURE
Haidt predicted that most American schools will have banned smartphones by the start of the next school year. (Matt Cardy/Getty Images)
“Seaside recently joined thousands of schools across the country in banning smartphones, as a growing body of evidence shows they are linked to declining test scores and rising rates of mental illness among teens,” the report said, adding that similar bans will take effect after winter break for schools in Virginia, South Carolina and California.
The newspaper cited Haidt as one of the main reasons why this awareness about the damage to smartphones has spread so quickly. The report’s author, Olivia Reingold, wrote, “Why is this movement finally getting results? I spoke to a dozen people—educators, activists, and parents—and they all gave the same answer: Jonathan Haidt.”
The author’s book was praised by prominent figures on both the right and left, including Governor Ron DeSantis – who banned smartphones of K-12 public schools by 2023 – former President Barack Obama and Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
Psychologist Jean Twenge told The Free Press: “There’s been a lot of progress in the last year, after years of relatively slow progress. A lot of that has to do with Jon’s book – it’s really brought the conversation even more to the forefront. It’s inspired a lot directors and supervisors to impose stricter rules.”
POLICE RELEASE WARNING ABOUT DANGEROUS NEW TIKTOK CHALLENGE FEELING US, MULTIPLE ARRESTS MADE
The outlet described the book’s approach to achieving Haidt’s “Great Rewiring of Childhood,” which requires the implementation of four “fundamental rules.” “They are: no smartphones before high school, no social media before age 16, no phones in school, and more unsupervised play and independence for children.”
Haidt told TFP he is “stunned” at the speed at which awareness of the issue has spread. “The only other example of social change I’ve seen that has happened so quickly is the fall of the Iron Curtain.”
The psychologist argued that many parents resisted the idea of giving their children smartphones, but have fallen under social pressure over the years. “Every parent thought, ‘I don’t want to give my child a smartphone at the age of 10, but she comes home and tells me, ‘Mom, I’m the only one.’ That’s the magic expression: ‘I’m the only one who doesn’t have one,’ he said.
Now, however, he noted that parents and educators are finally starting to resist now that “it is clear that all schools” are in favor of a ban.
