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Phone Free Schools Movement

Provide youth the freedom to excel academically and develop socially without the pressures and harms of phones and social media during the school day.

 

A collaborative movement by parents, educators, administrators, and students to support and implement effective phone-free policies for K-12 schools.

JOIN US: Unplugged & Engaged Event

Wednesday February 5, 2025

5:30-7:30 PM | SUNY Plattsburgh Campus Hawkins Hall

Come learn about North Country kids' phone and social media habits and start the conversation about phone-free schools with a panel of experts.

Panelists Include:

Maria Fernandez - NYS Deputy Secretary of Education 
Charles Keller - FBI Supervisory Special Agent 
Katey McPherson - Educational Consultant/School Wellness Consultant at Bark
David Rounds - Bethlehem Central School HS teacher and President Bethlehem Central Teachers Association
Aron Steward - Chief of Psychology UVM Health Network

Moderator:

Thom Hallock -Television News Anchor/Producer WCFE-TV Mountain Lake PBS

FREE PIZZA & CHILD CARE

Parent's We Need Your Input

Complete our Digital Media Survey for North Country Children

We're studying social media usage in North Country children. Please click the link below and answer this brief survey for each K-12 child in your household!

SUBMIT SURVEY

Anxious Generation

In The Anxious Generation, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt lays out the facts about the epidemic of teen mental illness that hit many countries at the same time. He then investigates the nature of childhood, including why children need play and independent exploration to mature into competent, thriving adults. Haidt shows how the *play-based childhood" began to decline in the 1980s, and how it was finally wiped out by the arrival of the "phone-based childhood" in the early 2010s. He presents more than a dozen mechanisms by which this "great rewiring of childhood" has interfered with children's social and neurological development, covering everything from sleep deprivation to attention fragmentation, addiction, loneliness, social contagion, social comparison, and perfectionism. He explains why social media damages girls more than boys and why boys have been withdrawing from the real world into the virtual world, with disastrous consequences for themselves, their families, and their societies.

​No smartphones before high school

Parents should delay children’s entry into round-the-clock internet access by giving only basic phones (phones with limited apps and no internet browser) before 9th grade (roughly age 14).

No social media before 16

Let kids get through the most vulnerable period of brain development before connecting them to a firehose of social comparison and algorithmically chosen influencers.

Phone-free schools

In all schools from elementary through high school, students should store their phones, smartwatches, and any other personal devices that can send or receive texts in phone lockers or locked pouches during the school day to free up their attention.

More independence, free play, and responsibility in the real world.

That’s the way children naturally develop social skills, overcome anxiety, and become self-governing young adults.

Phone Free
Childhood

Play based
Childhood

Reclaim Life

Literature to Explore

Books

The Coddling of the American Mind. By Dr. Jonathan Haidt

The Anxious Generation By Dr. Jonathan Haidt

Growing Up In Public By Devorah Heitner

Websites

The digital world is built on advertising. How do we help kids navigate it?

Motivations for social media use: Associations with social media engagement and body satisfaction and wellbeing among adolescents

Pros & cons: impacts of social media on mental health

The Impact of Social Media on Teens' Mental Health

FOMO Is Real: How the Fear of Missing Out Affects Your Health

The Psychology Behind The Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)

The Obvious and Hidden Dangers of TikTok: Safeguarding Your Kids

Teens and social media: Key findings from Pew Research Center surveys

Anti-dopamine parenting' can curb a kid's craving for screens or sweets

Tech has rewired our kids' brains, a new book says. Can we undo the damage?

New York’s governor wants to “liberate” kids — by taking their phones

How Social Media Affects Your Teen’s Mental Health: A Parent’s Guide

The False Promise of Device-Based Education

Technology expert shares the one message that can get teens to rethink their screentime

The Link Between Social Media and Body Image Issues Among Youth in the United States

Teens and Social Media Fact Sheet

Teens are spending nearly 5 hours daily on social media. Here are the mental health outcomes

Seven Insights From Teens About Social Media and Mental Health

Social Media and Mental Health in Children and Teens

Social Media Impact: How Social Media Sites Affect Society

How Bad Is Screen Time? Inside The New Research On Child Brain Development

Gen Z, Social Media is Optional

Does TikTok really cause brain rot? New study links short video addiction to brain abnormalities

Scientists just demonstrated that people who are good at reading have different brains

Documentaries & Videos

News

Government Info

Research Articles

Social media use and anxiety in emerging adults By Anna Vannucci , Kaitlin M Flannery, Christine McCauley Ohannessian

Fear of missing out and sleep: Cognitive behavioural factors in adolescents' nighttime social media use By Holly Scott,
Heather Cleland Woods

A systematic review: the influence of social media on depression,anxiety and psychological distress in adolescents By Betul Keles , Niall McCrae and Annmarie Grealish

Association of Online Risk Factors With Subsequent Youth Suicide-Related Behaviors in the US By Steven A. Sumner, MD, MSc1; Brock Ferguson, PhD2; Brian Bason, BS2; et al

Evaluation of the SPARK Child Mentoring Program: A Social and Emotional Learning Curriculum for Elementary School Students By Green et al.

Social media use and body image issues among adolescents in a vulnerable Louisiana community By Sagrera, C. E., Magner, J., Temple, J., Lawrence, R., Magner, T. J., Avila-Quintero, V. J., McPherson, P., Alderman, L. L., Bhuiyan, M. A. N., Patterson, J. C., & Murnane, K. S.

Quality of life and mental health of adolescents: Relationships with social media addiction, Fear of Missing out, and stress associated with neglect and negative reactions by online peers By Vu Anh Trong Dam, Nam Gia Dao, Duy Cao Nguyen, Thuc Minh Thi Vu, Laurent Boyer, Pascal Auquier, Guillaume Fond, Roger C M Ho, Cyrus S H Ho , Melvyn W B Zhang

The Impact of Social Media on the Mental Health of Adolescents and Young Adults: A Systematic Review By Abderrahman M Khalaf, Abdullah A Alubied, Ahmed M Khalaf, Abdallah A Rifaey

Most Americans back cellphone bans during class, but fewer support all-day restrictions By Monica Anderson, Jeffrey Gottfried, Eugenie Park

Teens, Social Media and Technology 2024 By Michelle Faverio and Olivia Sidoti

Resources

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