Social Media Experiment: A Lesson for Us All

3/27/2019

LK (lk)

This Wednesday concluded the 4th annual Social Media Experiment with our juniors. Ms. Kennedy has noticed a number of evolutions in student reactions over the four years, but this year's conclusion was noticably poignant. Keep reading to hear directly from our students and parents about their feelings about returning to their phones and social media personas. Click on the headline to read more.

In four years of doing this project, I have never experienced a final day like today. You would think I was handing back handcuffs from the lackluster, unexcited expressions on student faces. Come to think of it, that might be exactly what these phones are for our students--social handcuffs. Here are some comments from them as they waited to get their phones:

"Some students want their phones back, but like 75% of us don't."
"Can you keep it for another week?"
"I feel depressed because now I'm going to have to start keeping up with all of the social nonsense again. I need to delete my social media apps but I don't know if I'm strong enough." :'(
"I don't want my phone back. I need to take my math test, then I guess I'll have to come back and get it after that. I need to keep my focus."
About three minutes after returning the phones, a student came back and said, "take it back! I don't want this horrible thing in my life." He left the phone on my desk and I haven't seen him since...!
By the end of the lunch return period, I still had 25 phones in my room. Normally students are storming the gates! What is happening?

Parents have sent me heartwarming emails about how connected to their children they felt without the phones, and others have admitted that this challenge was possibly harder for them than it was for their children. I'm hopeful that everyone has learned something from the experience.

My charge to all of you and to all of my students is to become more aware of that screentime number that phones now horrifyingly tally. Just as we think about our diets and our exercise routines, it might be a good idea to keep an eye on how we are doing with screen time.

Thank you all for your support in yet another interesting year of stepping away from phones and social media.

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