In my conversations with teachers and school social workers, I have often heard that there are many barriers to removing cell phones from the classroom.  One of the more surprising ones that I have heard is from parents saying that they  want their kids to have their phones with them so that they can reach them anytime if necessary. Parents are providing their very young children with phones, as young as grades 2 and 3.  This feels like parents are using phones as a tool to keep in touch with their kids and to make sure they are safe.   

Here's a great video that was sent to me this week that demonstrates what is happening in the iGen period, and some sage advice on how to live without becoming enslaved by your cell phone.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=...amp;feature=youtu.be

Thanks for the suggestion of the video Elaine!  She had some interesting facts and stats. I found her graphs about prevalence of anxiety and the 50% saturation of smartphone use eye opening.

 Colleeen's point, of parents wanting to be able to get a hold of their children anytime necessary and of chidlren as young as grade 2 or 3 getting phones is also interesting.  

I wonder if GenX'ers are passing their anxiety down to their children and that is getting transmitted via the need to be in constant contact.  Yes, we live in a world where there are school shootings and and school lock downs, and there is a comfort to know that a parent can get in touch with their child at any time.  At what cost though?  

If schools are going to take on working with students to use the technology "appropriately" in whatever that means, I wonder if it would be prudent to have a parallel process for the parents?

There are so many questions swirling around my brain, both as a parent of a child growing up in the digital age, as well as a therapist who sees people impacted by tech use.

I have heard that some teachers have a basket at the front of the room where they collect their students' cellphones before the start of the class. I think this could be helpful however, there are now smart watches and other wearable technologies that can provide the student with access to the Internet. So I feel like this does not tackle the entire problem and that more needs to be done in the classroom, such as addressing some of the underlying factors that put students at risk (which may include parental/family factors as you mentioned Beth) and teaching practical skills for safe Internet use as you mentioned Lisa.