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.
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).
Let kids get through the most vulnerable period of brain development before connecting them to a firehose of social comparison and algorithmically chosen influencers.
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.
That’s the way children naturally develop social skills, overcome anxiety, and become self-governing young adults.
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?
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
Teens, Social Media and Technology 2022
Teens Spend Average of 4.8 Hours on Social Media Per Day
Parenting Mitigates Social Media-Linked Mental Health Issues
UFT could support citywide school cell phone ban—with conditions
UK parents join pact to withhold smartphones from children under 14
Cell Phone Free Schools: How Three States Are Leading the Way to Create Distraction-Free Learning
Listen: ‘The Push to Ban Phones in School’
What this high school senior wants adults to know about classroom phone bans
Jonathan Haidt Started a Social-Media War. Did He Win?
Australia plans a social media ban for children under 16
Should the U.S. enforce a social media ban for kids? Parents & docs sound off
New Study Outlines Impact Of Social Media On Teenagers
How Australia’s controversial social media ban for children compares to other countries
Survey: Large majority of Germans want Aussie-style social media ban
Government Info
Social Media and Youth Mental Health
TikTok sued by 13 states and DC, accused of harming younger users
Governor Newsom signs legislation to limit the use of smartphones during school hours
U.S. Supreme Court Suspicious of State Social Media Regulation
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