Helping students use smartphones responsibly

  • By Sasha Lekach Chicago Tribune
  • Friday, August 14, 2015 7:59am
  • Life

For many tweens heading into middle school, the transition from elementary school won’t be marked only by new teachers, class schedules and locker assignments but also by a gleaming new phone.

Deciding whether a middle schooler is ready to take on mobile phone responsibility is a personal decision for each family. The device, whether smart or basic, brings up a host of questions and concerns from parents, especially as summer days turn into structured school days and packed after-school hours.

An April Pew Research Center study reported that 88 percent of 13- to 17-year-olds have or have access to some sort of phone; 73 percent have or have access to a smartphone. Those findings match up with the typical age for a student’s first phone: around 12 for a basic cellphone and older than 13 for a smartphone.

Cost, maturity, time management and other factors play into the decision to give a child a phone. Common Sense Media, a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization that advocates for family education on media and technology, delves into those topics on its website.

“We believe it’s important to consider how your kid is going to be using it,” said Common Sense Media parenting editor Caroline Knorr. “Are kids going to be able to handle it?”

Knorr noted that many teachers are starting to include technology in the classroom to track schedules, homework, assignments and projects. Some are relying on phone apps, such as Google Docs, to share reports and submit answers, along with other phone-based learning tools. But, as everyone knows, social apps and texting are constant temptations that can distract kids from schoolwork.

Every classroom, school district and even, say, Boy Scout troop may roll out different expectations for phone use. But for every situation, Knorr said, parents need to stay consistent on setting their own rules.

CTIA, a nonprofit that represents wireless communications companies, advocates for healthy digital media consumption. Its Growing Wireless platform is geared toward parents and kids using digital devices. Like Knorr, Jamie Hastings, CTIA vice president of external and state affairs, says that giving a child a phone is a family decision, one that continues to skew toward younger ages as the devices drop in price.

Hastings stressed that once a child is given a device, it’s up to the parent to “understand how they are using (it).” Keep checking in and communicating, she advised.

For parents whose tweens are reaching that stage when they’re not talking as much to mom and dad, the device might offer potential gains, said Liz Kolb, clinical assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Education, who researches education technologies, with a focus on mobile phones. Using the very device that seems to be pushing your son or daughter away might be the best way to communicate. Send a text to thaw the communication freeze, Kolb advised.

“Middle school is a very important time for parents to be in tune with what their children are doing,” she said, which includes their online and mobile interactions and decisions. This is when talking about phone use is pertinent.

She recommended creating a social contract. If a child wants to download a new app, he or she should be checking in with mom or dad and setting it up together.

Supervised phone use is a way to monitor kids’ digital decisions while giving them responsibility and freedom.

“It’s actually safer if we can have our children come to us,” Kolb said. “As we know, when we don’t permit our children to use things, they will find a way.”

Helpful resources

A wealth of online information can help guide and inform parents. Think of these as tools to help everyone manage the digital overload.

CTIA’s Growing Wireless: The CTIA and Wireless Foundation’s resource site covers topics from cyberbullying to online privacy. Find a parents guide to mobile phones, checklists and a safety test to see how much you know about phone safety issues. www.growingwireless.com

Common Sense Media: The digital education nonprofit’s website has a section devoted to cellphone issues, with an FAQ about responsible cellphone use, phone readiness, rule-making, deciding what phones and plans to purchase and keeping tabs on your kids on their devices. www.commonsensemedia.org/cell-phone-parenting

Your cellphone provider: Carriers such as AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon offer safety tips and advice for parents through their websites, or link to other guides and sites, including the National Cyber Security Alliance’s Stay Safe Online guide (www.staysafeonline.org and type “parental controls” in the search field).

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Sarah Jean Muncey-Gordon puts on some BITCHSTIX lip oil at Bandbox Beauty Supply on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Langley, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Bandbox Beauty was made for Whidbey Island locals, by an island local

Founder Sarah Muncey-Gordon said Langley is in a renaissance, and she’s proud to be a part of it.

A stroll on Rome's ancient Appian Way is a kind of time travel. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves on the Appian Way, Rome’s ancient superhighway

Twenty-nine highways fanned out from Rome, but this one was the first and remains the most legendary.

Byrds co-founder Roger McGuinn, seen here in 2013, will perform April 20 in Edmonds. (Associated Press)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

R0ck ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Roger McGuinn, frontman of The Byrds, plans a gig in Edmonds in April.

Mother giving in to the manipulation her daughter fake crying for candy
Can children be bribed into good behavior?

Only in the short term. What we want to do is promote good habits over the course of the child’s life.

Speech Bubble Puzzle and Discussion
When conflict flares, keep calm and stand your ground

Most adults don’t like dissension. They avoid it, try to get around it, under it, or over it.

The colorful Nyhavn neighborhood is the place to moor on a sunny day in Copenhagen. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves: Embrace hygge and save cash in Copenhagen

Where else would Hans Christian Andersen, a mermaid statue and lovingly decorated open-face sandwiches be the icons of a major capital?

Last Call is a festured artist at the 2024 DeMiero Jazz Festival: in Edmonds. (Photo provided by DeMiero Jazz Festival)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Jazz ensemble Last Call is one of the featured artists at the DeMiero Jazz Festival on March 7-9 in Edmonds.

Kim Helleren
Local children’s author to read at Edmonds Bookshop

Kim Helleren will read from one of her books for kids at the next monthly Story Time at Edmonds Bookshop on March 29.

Chris Elliott
Lyft surprises traveler with a $150 cleaning charge

Jared Hakimi finds a $150 charge on his credit card after a Lyft ride. Is that allowed? And will the charge stick?

Inside Elle Marie Hair Studio in Smokey Point. (Provided by Acacia Delzer)
The best hair salon in Snohomish County

You voted, we tallied. Here are the results.

The 2024 Kia EV9 electric SUV has room for up to six or seven passengers, depending on seat configuration. (Photo provided by Kia)
Kia’s all-new EV9 electric SUV occupies rarified air

Roomy three-row electric SUVs priced below 60 grand are scarce.

2023 Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE Premium AWD (Photo provided by Toyota)
2023 Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE Premium AWD

The compact SUV electric vehicle offers customers the ultimate flexibility for getting around town in zero emission EV mode or road-tripping in hybrid mode with a range of 440 miles and 42 mile per gallon fuel economy.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.