Student safety summit centers on phones

SANDPOINT — Educators, residents and law enforcement personnel gathered at Sandpoint High School Tuesday to discuss a pair of threats to the mental and emotional wellness of modern students: social media and smartphones. 

The March 18 student safety summit was attended by dozens of Lake Pend Oreille School District families, and comes after school board trustees approved a revised policy in January that prohibits all students from using cell phones during class and bans their use during passing periods and lunch time in district middle schools and elementary schools.

During the event, local teachers described the changes they’ve observed in classrooms as smartphones became widespread among students in the last decade. 

“I was originally very much pro-cell phone in my classroom,” Clark Fork Jr./Sr. High English teacher Becca Palmer said. “I felt it was important that kids learned how to use this tool in adult life; when it should be used and when it shouldn’t be used.” 

Now, Palmer said, she’s seen smartphones harm students’ focus and force teachers to alter their instruction. 

“Ten years ago, if I did a lesson and I had kids’ attention for 20 minutes, it’s cut at least in half now,” she said. “I have to change things up even more often to keep their attention on what they’re supposed to be learning.” 

In addition to causing distractions, teachers told attendees that digital devices can harm teens’ sleep quality and instigate body dysmorphia and feelings of inadequacy. The presenters also shared data indicating that the rise in smartphone and social media use among children has correlated with increased rates of anxiety, depression and self-harm. 

“It used to be that when we were bullied, or we had a bad day with our group of friends and there was drama going on, we could go home and we would be safe there,” Palmer said. 

“Now, they’re carrying that drama with them in their hands and it's following them all the way up to sleep,” she added. 

North Idaho law enforcement personnel from Post Falls Police Department and Kootenai County Juvenile Probation also shared insights at the event. 

Kootenai County juvenile probation supervisor Loni Whiteman indicated that many of the children she interacts with have problems associated with chronic internet use and are not as eager as those from prior generations to get a job or driver’s license. 

“A lot of these kids are not as resilient as they should be and haven’t experienced the world as we did as kids,” she said. “They’re not getting out in the world and experiencing life and opportunities.” 

Presenters warned that the modern internet can be used to facilitate drug deals and spread explicit content, and that smartphones and social media expose kids to predators in online spaces. 

Juvenile probation officer Mikayla Blood offered tips to help parents protect their kids, which included turning off GPS features in apps, ensuring their social media accounts are categorized as private and demonstrating responsible smartphone use themselves. 

“If we’re not on our phones 24/7, if we’re engaged with them, we’re modeling that behavior for them,” Blood said. 

The most important factor, she said, was postponing the age at which children gain unrestricted internet access. 

“If you can delay it even to age 15, 16, you’re giving your kids a way better shot,” Blood said. 

That way, “they’re learning those skills, they’re having those failures and picking themselves back up, and learning resiliency,” she added.