Children's addiction to smartphones is feared to become more serious if the ban on bringing them to school is lifted.
The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry will work out new guidelines on smartphone use at school while envisioning the lifting of the ban on bringing smartphones and other mobile devices to school.
Currently, elementary and junior high school students are prohibited, in principle, from bringing smartphones to school, while also in principle, high school students are banned from using them at school. If these bans are lifted, it will mark a major shift in policy. Education minister Masahiko Shibayama cited "changes in the social environment surrounding schools and circumstances in which young students are placed" as a reason for reviewing the current guidelines.
One of the incidents that triggered the review of the ban was an earthquake that hit northern Osaka Prefecture last June. The occurrence of the earthquake overlapped with school commuting hours. Many parents, who had had difficulties in confirming the safety of their children at that time, filed requests to allow their children to bring mobile phones to school.
More than half of elementary school pupils and over 60 percent of junior high school students possess smartphones or mobile phones. Smartphones are in fact equipped with functions that are useful in times of emergency. Parents want to confirm the safety of their children as soon as possible by hearing their voices or via social networking services. It is reasonable for them to think this way.
But is there any necessity for making children bring smartphones or other mobile devices every time they go to school for the sake of preparing for an unexpected disaster?
How would the use of these devices during class and such trouble as theft be prevented? Will the lifting of the ban make it easier to bully others via SNS? These are merely a small part of the concerns. It will also be necessary to consider measures for children who do not possess mobile devices. Whether to lift the ban should be studied carefully while avoiding a rough-and-ready decision on the matter.
Set household rules first
The Osaka prefectural government took the lead ahead of the central government to formulate its own guidelines to lift the ban on bringing mobile devices to public elementary and junior high schools.
The devices are allowed to be used only for the purpose of communicating in times of emergency. Students should keep devices in their bags on their way to school and during school. The management of the devices should be handled by the children. The guidelines including these matters were presented to the boards of education in cities, towns and villages in the prefecture.
The education ministry acclaimed the guidelines, saying that they "give a certain consideration to various concerns and problems." But this cannot be instantly accepted. An especially problematic point is that concrete application of the guidelines has been left to the schools.
This will lead to differences in the way the guidelines are carried out, thereby possibly giving rise to confusion. In the event of the ban being lifted, it is indispensable to set strict and unified rules.
If the ban is removed, the length of time smartphones and other mobile devices are carried by children will accordingly become longer. This point should also not be forgotten.
Harmful effects from the diffusion of smartphones, including being absorbed playing games through the middle of the night, have become societal problems. The connections to the weakening of eyesight and physical strength have also been pointed out.
Limit the hours of daily smartphone use. Clearly instruct on the potential dangers associated with using SNS. It is essential for the parents and children of each household to first get together to discuss and decide on the rules on using smartphones.
It is not too late to discuss the advisability of bringing smartphones to school after going through this process.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Feb. 24, 2019)
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