'What about smartphones?'

Many parents have concerns about smartphone use. In response, we added the following to our FAQ: 

We see electronic devices as powerful learning resources. Computers can be used for games, research, watching videos, and creating art. We will not set limits or bans on screen use. However, we will implement age-appropriate restrictions to ensure children are exposed only to safe and age-appropriate content. The School Meeting will regularly review and adjust rules to ensure students of all ages can use technology safely.

The school is not the home. We support parents who choose to restrict their children's screen time at home. For example, during dinner time, when it is time to be present with each other. Or to put screens in a different room at bedtime. Some parents might decide to restrict screen use entirely before a certain age. Students won't be able to bring personal devices to school if they don't own any. 

Not banning smartphones at school sounds tone-deaf; calls to ban devices in schools are getting louder. Ever since Jonathan Haidt published his book 'The Anxious Generation', there have been worries that the use of smartphones is making kids depressed, suicidal, and more anxious. 

So why take the contrarian stance? 

The reason is that Haidt's book is based on the narrative that, ever since the widespread adoption of smartphones and social media, teen mental health has been down the toilet. The problem is that Haidt cherry-picks a handful of countries (the US, UK, Australia, and Canada) while ignoring the rest (the EU and the rest of the world). Curiously, he excludes countries that don't fit his narrative. 

So what does the research say? We need to assess how much social media use affects mental health. Researchers use different methods to study this. They use 'cross-sectional correlational studies' (comparing the mental health of teens who use social media a lot, compared to those who don't), 'longitudinal correlational studies' (tracking the mental health and social media usage of a group of teens over time), 'random assignment experiments' (making teens use social media less for a few weeks and surveying the results), and 'cross-national studies' (researching the impact of social media use across borders). 

Spoiler: 

None of these research approaches consistently finds that social media negatively impacts teens' mental health. Some show a slightly negative impact, some a slightly positive one, but most find no impact. 

Haidt's response to such research findings has been that none of these researchers can point to an alternative explanation for why teen mental health has declined since the adoption of smartphones and social media. As noted above, this narrative holds up for only a handful of countries. In terms of an alternative explanation, this is provided in Peter Gray's latest book 'Restoring Childhood'. Gray argues that increased academic pressure resulted in declining teen mental wellbeing.

The above doesn't mean smartphone use is without problems. Having a smartphone in the bedroom reduces both the duration and quality of sleep. The solution is simple: put the device in a different room. We encourage reading the following tips to use smartphones safely. 

Sources:

Ferguson, C. J., Kaye, L. K., Branley-Bell, D., & Markey, P. (2025). There is no evidence that time spent on social media is correlated with adolescent mental health problems: Findings from a meta-analysis. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 56(1), 73–83. https://doi.org/10.1037/pro0000589

Valkenburg PM, Meier A, Beyens I. Social media use and its impact on adolescent mental health: An umbrella review of the evidence. Curr Opin Psychol. 2022 Apr;44:58-68.  https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2025-31872-001

Heffer, T., Good, M., Daly, O., MacDonell, E., & Willoughby, T. (2019). The Longitudinal Association Between Social-Media Use and Depressive Symptoms Among Adolescents and Young Adults: An Empirical Reply to Twenge et al. (2018). Clinical Psychological Science, 7(3), 462-470. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167702618812727

Steinsbekk S, Nesi J, Wichstrøm L. Social media behaviors and symptoms of anxiety and depression. A four-wave cohort study from age 10-16 years. Comput Human Behav. 2023 Oct;147:107859. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39474430/

Hamilton JL, Biernesser C, Moreno MA, Porta G, Hamilton E, Johnson K, Poling KD, Sakolsky D, Brent DA, Goldstein TG. Social media use and prospective suicidal thoughts and behaviors among adolescents at high risk for suicide. Suicide Life Threat Behav. 2021 Dec;51(6):1203-1212. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8729160/