Question: If there were to be a school emergency, such as a dangerous person on the grounds, what do school safety experts say is best for students to do? Pull out phones? Call home? Be silent?
Hopefully you answered, be silent. The belief that students would be helped by having their own phones with them (or smartwatches) is just one of many myths our Away For the Day campaign addresses.
We launched the Away For The Day movement in 2017 because we could see back then the detrimental impact of smartphone use in schools, not just on academics but also on the emotional wellbeing and social development of youth. The fact is research shows that Away For The Day is the way to go.
We have significantly updated our Away For The Day website to help you support cellphone bans at your schools or your kids’ schools.
AwayForTheDay.org houses the latest, best academic research on the effects of smartphones at school on kids' academic and emotional well-being. This research will continue to grow, and we will continue to update our resources.
The website also has a toolkit for everyone interested in supporting this issue, including a handy PowerPoint presentation to appeal to the administrators responsible for policies OR an administrator looking for a way to roll out new policies and guidelines in your school or district.
We are thrilled to see that smartphone bans at schools are gaining significant momentum across the country. The Los Angeles Unified School Board's decision to ban smartphones at all their schools starting January 2025 is a major step forward. Similarly, New York City Schools are on the verge of implementing a ban, and we receive daily reports of many states, districts, counties, and individual schools following suit. This progress fills us with hope for a future where students can thrive without the distractions of smartphones.
Learn more about showing our movies in your school or community!
Join Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD for our latest Podcast
Learn more about our Screen-Free Sleep campaign at the website!
Our movie made for parents and educators of younger kids
Learn more about showing our movies in your school or community!
If you believe that phones and smartwatches should be put away for the day in school, off of students, in lockers, collection points, locked boxes, etc., please click here to answer yes. (We promise not to email any follow-up.) The bigger this number is, the louder our voices become together!
Today, additional devices like smartwatches exacerbate the challenge. On September 3rd, we are releasing an elementary school edition (K-5) of Screenagers: Growing Up in the Digital Age that includes a whole section about the smartwatch issue showing up in elementary school classes everywhere. Please click here if you want more information about hosting our new movie.
All schools and communities will have needs specific to their circumstances. Still, our central point is that schools should aim to have clear policies, communicated to and understood by students, parents, and teachers, that say smartphones, smartwatches, and gaming devices should be put Away For The Day by...
I want to add that we are jazzed that Jonathan Haidt is elevating the importance of Away For The Day in his new book. When I interviewed him about mental health issues, we discussed Away For The Day, and I will share that in an upcoming podcast.
Remember, your support is crucial to our mission. If you believe in the benefits of phone bans at schools, we urge you to click here and pledge your support. Your pledges are not just numbers; they are powerful tools that we can use to show policymakers and media outlets the strong demand for 'Away For The Day' policies in schools. Your support matters, and we are grateful for it.
Learn more about showing our movies in your school or community!
Join Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD for our latest Podcast
Learn more about our Screen-Free Sleep campaign at the website!
Our movie made for parents and educators of younger kids
Join Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD for our latest Podcast
Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel! With new ones added regularly, you'll find over 100 videos covering parenting advice, guidance, podcasts, movie clips and more. Here's our latest!
As we’re about to celebrate 10 years of Screenagers, we want to hear what’s been most helpful and what you’d like to see next.
Please click here to share your thoughts with us in our community survey. It only takes 5–10 minutes, and everyone who completes it will be entered to win one of five $50 Amazon vouchers.
Question: If there were to be a school emergency, such as a dangerous person on the grounds, what do school safety experts say is best for students to do? Pull out phones? Call home? Be silent?
Hopefully you answered, be silent. The belief that students would be helped by having their own phones with them (or smartwatches) is just one of many myths our Away For the Day campaign addresses.
We launched the Away For The Day movement in 2017 because we could see back then the detrimental impact of smartphone use in schools, not just on academics but also on the emotional wellbeing and social development of youth. The fact is research shows that Away For The Day is the way to go.
We have significantly updated our Away For The Day website to help you support cellphone bans at your schools or your kids’ schools.
AwayForTheDay.org houses the latest, best academic research on the effects of smartphones at school on kids' academic and emotional well-being. This research will continue to grow, and we will continue to update our resources.
The website also has a toolkit for everyone interested in supporting this issue, including a handy PowerPoint presentation to appeal to the administrators responsible for policies OR an administrator looking for a way to roll out new policies and guidelines in your school or district.
We are thrilled to see that smartphone bans at schools are gaining significant momentum across the country. The Los Angeles Unified School Board's decision to ban smartphones at all their schools starting January 2025 is a major step forward. Similarly, New York City Schools are on the verge of implementing a ban, and we receive daily reports of many states, districts, counties, and individual schools following suit. This progress fills us with hope for a future where students can thrive without the distractions of smartphones.
If you believe that phones and smartwatches should be put away for the day in school, off of students, in lockers, collection points, locked boxes, etc., please click here to answer yes. (We promise not to email any follow-up.) The bigger this number is, the louder our voices become together!
Today, additional devices like smartwatches exacerbate the challenge. On September 3rd, we are releasing an elementary school edition (K-5) of Screenagers: Growing Up in the Digital Age that includes a whole section about the smartwatch issue showing up in elementary school classes everywhere. Please click here if you want more information about hosting our new movie.
All schools and communities will have needs specific to their circumstances. Still, our central point is that schools should aim to have clear policies, communicated to and understood by students, parents, and teachers, that say smartphones, smartwatches, and gaming devices should be put Away For The Day by...
I want to add that we are jazzed that Jonathan Haidt is elevating the importance of Away For The Day in his new book. When I interviewed him about mental health issues, we discussed Away For The Day, and I will share that in an upcoming podcast.
Remember, your support is crucial to our mission. If you believe in the benefits of phone bans at schools, we urge you to click here and pledge your support. Your pledges are not just numbers; they are powerful tools that we can use to show policymakers and media outlets the strong demand for 'Away For The Day' policies in schools. Your support matters, and we are grateful for it.
Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel! With new ones added regularly, you'll find over 100 videos covering parenting advice, guidance, podcasts, movie clips and more. Here's our latest!
Sign up here to receive the weekly Tech Talk Tuesdays newsletter from Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD.
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Question: If there were to be a school emergency, such as a dangerous person on the grounds, what do school safety experts say is best for students to do? Pull out phones? Call home? Be silent?
Hopefully you answered, be silent. The belief that students would be helped by having their own phones with them (or smartwatches) is just one of many myths our Away For the Day campaign addresses.
We launched the Away For The Day movement in 2017 because we could see back then the detrimental impact of smartphone use in schools, not just on academics but also on the emotional wellbeing and social development of youth. The fact is research shows that Away For The Day is the way to go.
We have significantly updated our Away For The Day website to help you support cellphone bans at your schools or your kids’ schools.
AwayForTheDay.org houses the latest, best academic research on the effects of smartphones at school on kids' academic and emotional well-being. This research will continue to grow, and we will continue to update our resources.
The website also has a toolkit for everyone interested in supporting this issue, including a handy PowerPoint presentation to appeal to the administrators responsible for policies OR an administrator looking for a way to roll out new policies and guidelines in your school or district.
We are thrilled to see that smartphone bans at schools are gaining significant momentum across the country. The Los Angeles Unified School Board's decision to ban smartphones at all their schools starting January 2025 is a major step forward. Similarly, New York City Schools are on the verge of implementing a ban, and we receive daily reports of many states, districts, counties, and individual schools following suit. This progress fills us with hope for a future where students can thrive without the distractions of smartphones.
This year, millions of students are experiencing a major shift: school days without phones, smartwatches, or other personal devices. Today we explore the wins, hurdles, and solutions helping schools succeed. We also share our resources that you can use to support technology policy changes in your schools.
READ MORE >
I recently sat down with middle school principal Zach at his school in Washington State. We talked about the challenges Zach and his team faced in his early years as principal when students used phones during school, and how he brought about a powerful transformation by having phones and smartwatches put away in locked pouches for the whole school day. In today’s blog, to raise awareness of the challenges, I share five real examples from Zach of the troubling ways students use phones at school to be unkind.
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It is with great pleasure that I share with you today a piece that Lisa Tabb and I did for Jonathan Haidt's (Author of The Anxious Generation) and researcher Zack Rausch's Substack blog — After Babel. In it, we discuss the rise in use of smartwatches in elementary schools and the problems they pose. There is a real cost to arming (pun intended) our kids with these devices and sending them to school. Now is the time to stop and fully address this topic and ensure that schools become smartwatch and phone-free.
READ MORE >for more like this, DR. DELANEY RUSTON'S NEW BOOK, PARENTING IN THE SCREEN AGE, IS THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE FOR TODAY’S PARENTS. WITH INSIGHTS ON SCREEN TIME FROM RESEARCHERS, INPUT FROM KIDS & TEENS, THIS BOOK IS PACKED WITH SOLUTIONS FOR HOW TO START AND SUSTAIN PRODUCTIVE FAMILY TALKS ABOUT TECHNOLOGY AND IT’S IMPACT ON OUR MENTAL WELLBEING.
