Quebec and other provinces have sought to ban or restrict mobile devices in school to varying degrees, but the increasingly urgent public health issue needs a broader strategy.
Banning or severely restricting cellphones in class is the latest digital copycat trend in Canadian K-12 education. Seven provinces have adopted, or are in the process of adopting, policies that seek to ban or restrict mobile devices during instructional time: Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Manitoba and Alberta.
Smartphones are essentially the new cigarettes, albeit without the frightening and immediate health risks. Changing a contemporary culture dominated by social media is a daunting challenge. It begins at birth and needs to encompass every stage of human development, most acutely affecting toddlers, tweens, teens and youth up to 24 years of age (considered prolonged adolescence and covering the first phase of post-secondary education).
The surgeon general’s recommended plan of action is not limited to warning labels. It would encompass federal legislation to “shield” children and youth from “online harassment, abuse and exploitation”; federal and state regulations to require social media companies to share data on health effects and be subject to independent safety audits; and the adoption of mutually supportive policies in the schools and public health domains.
Curbing the detrimental and debilitating influence of social media is the new priority, but it must be achieved without cutting-off access to the internet for older, more mature students. It will require federal public health leadership and should be built upon a child development regulatory framework, embracing evidence-based and age-appropriate research in key fields.