They’ve seen the student distraction, the shortened attention spans, the constant checking of phones.
They’ve also observed the “emotional fall-out” that occurs from what students say about each other online.
Central Alberta educators aren’t joining an Ontario lawsuit against giant social media companies over “addictive” platforms with negative impacts — but they certainly understand some of the reasoning behind it.
Chinook’s Edge superintendent Kurt Sacher feels it’s “definitely harder” to teach a lot of young people when they are constantly checking their Instagram or Snapchat.
Many schools have been discussing to what degree they disallow cellphones. Sacher added that some administrators have completely banned them during school hours, while others have asked students to hand them in at the beginning of classes to try to avoid constant distractions.
However, teachers can’t protect students from all negative impacts of social media — such as bullying. That’s why Sacher urges parents to keep an eye on what their kids are posting because it could be causing a lot of emotional damage to them — or to others.
“There are some incredibly difficult outcomes when parents aren’t watching, and educators have to deal with the fall-out from that.”
Four large Ontario school boards — public school boards in Toronto, Peel and Ottawa-Carlton and the Toronto Catholic board are tired of dealing with the negativity. They are suing Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok for $4.5 billion, alleging these social media platforms are knowingly harming kids. The lawsuit alleges the platforms were designed to rewire children’s brains and disrupt how they think and learn — making it harder for schools to operate.
”These social media companies… have knowingly created a product that is addictive and marketed to kids,” the chair of the Toronto District School Board told CBC.
Sacher feels the most worrisome mental health impacts are to middle school students. He stressed that parents should be particularly vigilant about online activities at this age, as students’ brains are still forming, and they are just beginning to navigate the thorny field of social interactions.
Stephen Brown, a psychology instructor at Red Deer Polytechnic, sees some benefits from social media — such as bringing a world of information to people’s fingertips. But he noted researchers have found a big flip-side, with more time spent online leading to higher depression and a greater sense of isolation. “It’s been associated with a reduced sense of well-being.”
An over-saturation of news, called “doom scrolling,” can cause young people to feel gloomy about the future, and Brown believes it can contribute to people with different viewpoints dividing into separate camps.
In the classroom, he’s seen students tuning out to steal glances at their smartphones. Even adults have this problem “because it’s rewarding to your brain to look at something new,” said Brown.
He feels the implications of the shortened attention spans have yet to be determined.
But at the end of the day, he’s not sure a lawsuit can solve these issues or change the path we are on with technology. “These things are tools, and in some ways, they are beneficial,” said Brown, who recalls how thrilled his grandmother was when they were able to chat in real-time.
“I don’t think we can turn the clock back.”
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story listed Kurt Sacher as the superintendent of Wolf Creek Public Schools. Sacher is the superintendent of Chinook’s Edge School Division.