Schools & Learning
Are we sleepwalking into an attention span-demic? The studies are alarming.
Find out here what too much screentime does to academic achievement.
Left to their own devices?
Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study
This study by the National Institutes of Health has been following more than 11,000 9 to 10 year old children at 21 different areas throughout the US. According to this article on Healthline, the initial results of the research show that:
‘The two big takeaways from the initial data are:
• MRI scans found significant differences in the brains of some children who reported using smartphones, tablets, and video games more than seven hours a day.
• Children who reported more than two hours a day of screen time got lower scores on thinking and language tests.’
Just having your smart phone in sight, even if it’s switched off and face down, reduces your cognitive capacity. This was discovered in this study by the University of Chicago, which found that
“Results from two experiments indicate that even when people are successful at maintaining sustained attention—as when avoiding the temptation to check their phones—the mere presence of these devices reduces available cognitive capacity. Moreover, these cognitive costs are highest for those highest in smartphone dependence.”
Lister-Landman, Domoff and Dubow
This study addresses texting, but applies equally to today's more prevalent use of Snapchat etc. The study states that “Texting has the potential to impact study skills and performance in the classroom. Middle school, high school, and college students spend 6 min on average attending to their studies before being distracted by social media and texting (Rosen et al., 2013).”
And later, “…recent research largely has found a negative relation between frequency of media use and academic performance.”
The report also covers multi-tasking and the academic consequences of sleep deprivation due to online activity at night. And it’s girls who are more prone to unhealthy messaging addictions.
The same report states that there are two reasons that might explain girls’ vulnerability to messaging addiction, “First, females are more likely than males to engage in rumination or obsessive, preoccupied thinking,” (Johnson & Whisman, 2013; Nolen-Hoeksema & Jackson, 2001)… And “Perhaps engaging in compulsive texting reflects females’ preoccupation with intimacy in relationships that interferes with academic tasks…”
The report is worth reading in full in case you were in any doubt. Worryingly, Dr Kardaras in Glow Kids cites further statistics that reveal that more texting leads to greater likelihood of behavioural problems related lack of impulse control. He states that those “who have a harder time controlling their impulses also naturally tend to be more impulsive in other areas of their lives: trying drugs, drinking excessively, having sex.” Chapter 5 of his book is worth reading to find out more about what ‘hypernetworking’ kids (ie mostly girls) are more likely to experience.
This article in The Guardian (2015) Tablets out, imagination in: the schools that shun technology tells of how ‘Parents working in Silicon Valley are sending their children to a school where there’s not a computer in sight – and they’re not alone.’
It goes on to say,
‘A global report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) suggests education systems that have invested heavily in computers have seen “no noticeable improvement” in their results for reading, maths and science in the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) tests. The OECD’s education director, Andreas Schleicher says: “If you look at the best-performing education systems, such as those in East Asia, they’ve been very cautious about using technology in their classroom. Those students who use tablets and computers very often tend to do worse than those who use them moderately,” he adds.’
Children And Parents: Media Use And Attitudes Report 2022
‘When children were watching long-form content (such as a film), some of them felt that they had to be on other devices while watching such content. For some, this was because they found it hard to pay attention to just one activity.
“Sometimes when I am playing [on my PS4] I like to just watch a YouTube video. Obviously, I can’t really focus on it [when gaming] but during the waiting times it is already on so I can watch it and wait.” – Isaac, 16
For others, it was more of a compulsion, to the point that they avoided situations where they wouldn’t be able to multi-screen.
“[If I’m multi-screening] I’m actually really paying attention because if I’m on my phone it makes it easier for me to focus on the film. I can’t just sit and watch a film. I love the idea of going to the cinema but literally 20 minutes into the film I’m bored and I want to go home. I like watching movies at home so I can be on my phone.” – Josie, 17’
The Insights Family also found that only 4% of children aged 3-17 say they never do anything else while watching TV.
Phones in schools
According to this 2022 article in Schools Week, titled, I’m Not Blaming The Parents’ – Michaela head defends smartphone criticism Michaela Birbalsingh, head of Michaela Community School, and dubbed Britain’s strictest head, believes that, “More needs to be done nationally to tackle the issue... She has previously called for a government information campaign to warn of the dangers of smartphone use, and says more drastic action may be needed.”
And later in the piece, “Birbalsingh insists too few people understand that smartphones are ‘extremely dangerous, in particular for the most vulnerable in our society. What too many of the middle classes don’t understand is that if mum and dad aren’t at home because they’re working three jobs… then the child doesn’t have the support at home to be able to get his homework done,’ she said. ‘And if he has a phone, he’s likely to be on the phone for eight hours in the evening and won’t go to sleep until two in the morning and then is exhausted and is unable to do his work.’”
In case you were wondering about Michaela Community School’s exam results, in 2021 they were some of the best in the country, with 82% of A-level students securing places at Russell Group universities. Birbalsingh is also chair of the Social Mobility Commission.
The impact of mobile phones on student performance
In this research paper, published in 2015 by the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics, states that there is an “improvement in student performance of 6.41% of a standard deviation in schools that have introduced a mobile phone ban.”
Furthermore, it states that, “low-achieving students are more likely to be distracted by the presence of mobile phones, while high achievers can focus in the classroom regardless of whether phones are present. Given heterogeneous results, banning mobile phones could be a low-cost way for schools to reduce educational inequality.”
Of course technology can be a powerful educational tool for kids from whatever background. However its power to exacerbate existing social class differences in attainment is powerful, to a degree that perhaps many aren’t aware of. Silicon Valley parents though are very aware. They know exactly what to do with tech.
Read more about Silicon Valley parents and their children here.
Sexual harrassment
This 2021 BBC article, titled ‘Girls asked for nudes by up to 11 boys a night, Ofsted finds’ outlines the findings of recent survey by Ofsted, including that “Some girls can be contacted by up to 11 boys a night asking for nude images” and that in the Ofsted survey, girls explained that if they blocked boys on social media “they just create multiple accounts to harass you".
“The report also found nine in 10 girls believed that sexist name-calling and being sent unwanted explicit photos or videos happened ‘a lot’ or ‘sometimes’ between their peers.”
And later in the piece, “A BBC investigation has revealed at least 13,000 sex offences a year between under-18s have been reported to police in England and Wales between 2018 and 2020… About 1,000 of the reported offences were about events happening on school premises.”
See the full (2021) Ofsted report here: Review Of Sexual Abuse In Schools And Colleges
Some forms of sexual harassment and online sexual abuse have become so normalised for children that they do not see the point in reporting and challenging this behaviour.
This Ofsted report includes the statement (here without original footnotes): “...police recorded over 83,000 child sexual abuse offences (including obscene publications) in the year ending March 2020. This is an increase of approximately 267% since 2013. Research estimates indicate that approximately one quarter of cases of all child sexual abuse involve a perpetrator under the age of 18.”
By the way, a quarter of 83,000 is 20,750 kids involved in sexual abuse with other minors. And these are just recorded offences.
The report also states that, “In focus groups, children and young people told us that deciding whether to report an incident depends on the perceived severity of the incident. For example, children and young people thought they would be listened to if they reported ‘serious’ incidents but would be less likely to report what they see as ‘common’ incidents, such as ‘being asked for nudes’ and ‘comments from boys in corridors’. This is largely because they feel that some of the incidents are so commonplace ‘there’s no point’ reporting them. Some forms of sexual harassment and online sexual abuse have become so normalised for children that they do not see the point in reporting and challenging this behaviour.”