Teachers say use of devices is ‘biggest problem’ in schools
TEACHERS yesterday addressed their fears over the rise of smartphone use among students, with many backing this newspaper’s growing campaign for a minimum age of smartphone ownership.
Mary Slattery, deputy principal of Ursuline Secondary School in Thurles, Co. Tipperary, said that she has observed how internetenabled devices were causing a broad spectrum of problems for young people.
‘It is the biggest problem. If we could take social media and smartphones out of our school we could take a huge problem away from young people,’ she told the Irish Daily Mail.
‘The bullying that’s going on, the fact that the phone is going all night long – there are people in bed with those phones, and they can access whatever they want.
‘There is no filter and all of the nasty stuff that can go on at the press of a button is hugely damaging to their self-esteem and their well-being.’
Ms Slattery added that she fully supported an age limit being enforced on smartphone ownership, and has signed this paper’s petition to see legislation in the area.
She said children under 16 should not have smartphones.
‘You can’t drive a car under 16, you can’t drink alcohol under 16, you should not have access to what’s out there under 16 as well.’
The Irish Daily Mail has previously highlighted the considerable support among teachers for the introduction of legislation around smartphone use amongst children.
More than 90 school principals fully backed this newspaper’s Protect Our Kids Online campaign, which highlighted the dangers, and dozens said that the smartphones were completely banned from their schools because of the problems they caused.