Smarter than the phone

Such is the power that the smartphone has overall of us, that only now, after all of these years, have governments begun to address a growing societal problem; the addiction caused by the use of these devices and their social apps. In some countries, “experiments” are under way to see if teachers can recapture the attention of students by banning smartphone use in school.

I say it’s about time, although the system has much more to worry about in terms of teaching than just the phones, but it’s an important move. I believe that, in general terms, there are many people that need to take time off from their devices on a daily basis. These things have become our ‘go to’ for whenever there is a break from whatever it is we’re doing, what’s more, many are ‘using’ in conjunction with their tasks at hand. Bad enough for adults, but young people are so easily distracted and even more easily manipulated. In school, it’s bad enough that many students don’t even want to be present, combine that with a boring, often useless curriculum, add a pinch of often disinterested teacher, and you have the perfect recipe for creating a student that when faced with the option of checking their instagram, or whatever app they fancy. For the many teachers who care about what and how their students learn, and continue to expose the gross underfunding and underdevelopment of the educational system, smartphones in the hands of their students are like twisting the knife on an already large wound. To capture a students’ attention is a difficult task in itself, teachers resort to many tactics, some learned, some personal, some completely outside of the box, but competing with this technology is a losing battle. Gone are the days of passing notes and secret gestures, the kids today have a slew of tools at their disposal, that fit in the pocket! All one has to do is try and think about the one room-full of expensive machines that are now a smart phone, and the kids don’t understand that, they weren’t around to remember. The power they detain is incredible, and for a teacher, the only way to try and get their point across is to eliminate the enemy. Obviously, most kids won’t understand this tactic, the sense of entitlement impregnated in our youth has no room for the forfeiture of what they consider their lifeline. There will also be parents aghast with the idea, because they seem to have forgotten that they used to get along perfectly fine without.

That’s a major point, when we latch on to something such as the smartphone, we quickly convince ourselves that we can’t live without it. We have also become so accustomed to reaching anyone at any time, it has become unthinkable that we can’t reach our children 24/7, even if they’re at school.

As I’ve mentioned on several occasions, extremism isn’t good in any situation. The way we’ve become attached to these devices is another form of extremism and it doesn’t bode well, especially for our children. They need to develop their minds from other human beings, not ghosts in the machine they carry around like a vital organ. These devices are controlling and so are many of those preaching through them. We all need to look forward, up, to either side, anywhere but down. We’ve done enough of that over the last number of years and everything is happening on our watch without our noticing. Going without phones at school will give many a chance to realize that they’ve been missing out. Our kids are way smarter than their phone, given the chance, they will see that.
Fiquem bem,

Raul Freitas/MS