One interesting piece of the (understandable) concerns about needing to contact kids in an emergency: I read that when all the students have phones in their pockets, the spread of false information can be a huge issue, not just in terms of making parents panic unnecessarily but even in terms of keeping kids safe on campus (not to mention student mental health).
There are so many systemic issues that need to be addressed (gun violence, underfunding of schools, lack of access to mental health care, etc.) that it feels overwhelming—and so the constant contact of phones feels necessary.
Strictly speaking, kids don't need smart phones for parents to contact them. They can use stupid flip phones. Dumb and dorky, yes. Still effective though.
One interesting piece of the (understandable) concerns about needing to contact kids in an emergency: I read that when all the students have phones in their pockets, the spread of false information can be a huge issue, not just in terms of making parents panic unnecessarily but even in terms of keeping kids safe on campus (not to mention student mental health).
There are so many systemic issues that need to be addressed (gun violence, underfunding of schools, lack of access to mental health care, etc.) that it feels overwhelming—and so the constant contact of phones feels necessary.
Totally. I truly empathize.
Strictly speaking, kids don't need smart phones for parents to contact them. They can use stupid flip phones. Dumb and dorky, yes. Still effective though.
Yes!!! My husband is pretty seriously thinking about going back to a dumb phone… there are some good models. I'm not there yet, though. 🙉