(This blog is taken from a presentation given in Chapel recently by the Head Girl Jess and Deputy Head Girls Hannah and Phoebe).
Almost everyone has a mobile phone these days, and whilst it would be incredibly biased to neglect the many positive benefits of mobile phones and social media today, it is clear to say that phones have completely changed the way we interact. Leaving home or as it seems, even leaving our dorms at school, without your phone is akin to leaving without your shoes on. The Head Girl’s Team in collaboration with the Senior Leadership Team, feel it is vital to take time to step out of this technology bubble and assess how we can have a healthy relationship with our devices, without being completely and utterly obsessed with them.
It would be safe to say that when we refer to the health risks associated with mobile phone use, most people would immediately think of the possibility of a link between phone use and cancer. And whilst it is true that phones emit radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation, and that the human body absorbs such energy, there is in fact no concrete evidence to prove such a relationship. What we feel is necessary to promote is the often neglected area of how mobile phones affect our thinking space. We seem to be glued to our smartphones — or, more precisely, the social media platforms our phones contain.
Neuroscientists have found that counting the number of likes and comments on a social media post may be especially intoxicating to our growing brains, leading to anxiety and the familiar word FOMO, meaning ‘fear of missing out’, which was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2013. The constant flow of photos, messages and videos on social media can be entertaining. But this fear of missing out is certainly not a good thing and has led us to obsessively checking social media, so that we don’t feel out of the loop. Arguably, this sometimes alleviates the anxiety — but often it doesn’t. And either way it drives you to keep running around what scientists are calling, the digital hamster wheel.
Click here to view a video entitled Look Up by film maker and spoken word artist, Gary Turk.
As this video so clearly demonstrates, we seem to live in a digital world where we are heard but not seen, stopping all of us living in the moment. Whilst we are not here to tell you what you should and should not be doing, the school recognises that mobile phones should be used in accordance with the new Device Etiquette. Although it is clear that phones should not be used in Chapel services, lectures, concerts or play performances, it should also be noted that mobile phone use should be kept to the absolute minimum in the dining rooms and at meal times. Meal times, be it breakfast, lunch or supper, should be a time to socialise and catch up with your friends, not to listen to music or as we have noticed, facetime family or friends.
Personal communication through mobile technologies is an accepted part of everyday life but these devices need to be used well and should not get in the way of face-to-face communication. A recent British survey has shown that the typical student aged between 14 and 17 spends a total of roughly 126 minutes or just over 2 hours per day on their phone. Adding this up over the course of the year amounts to the equivalent of 38 consecutive days. So, in the following days, just think about the opportunities you miss by being on your phone and the time recklessly wasted.
