FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — The Fayetteville School District wants to put a stop to social media use in their classrooms with different regulations in place.
The district’s superintendent Dr. John Mulford did some research and he says he learned that mental health issues are directly correlated to social media and that the apps target the youth.
He noticed the need to tighten their cell phone policies and instructions in the classroom.
Children and teens, like Fayetteville High School student Isabella Streett, spend hours on social media, even during class.
“But a lot of my teachers this year, especially, have been better about being respectful, about asking me to get off my phone and not so much bossy. They’re just trying to be kind and trying to help me out,” Streett said. “And, I think it’s easy for me to understand that. But, I could see students having a hard time with that as well.”
But, there are some negative impacts of social media use.
Iyannah Hinton, a senior at Fayetteville High School, says she finds herself questioning her appearance while on social media.
“Why don’t I look like that? Like, what could I do to change my appearance? I feel like I have to do better with my self-confidence, realizing that there’s only one of me, and I don’t need to be like anybody else,” Hinton said.
According to a study published on YaleMedicine.org, Americans ages 12 to 15 who used social media more than three hours each day faced twice the risk of having negative mental health outcomes like depression and anxiety symptoms.
“We also know that there are a lot of discipline and behavior-related issues in schools as a result of cell phones. And so, that’ll be kind of our next step,” Mulford said.
Mulford says they are joining a class action lawsuit against social media companies.
MotelyRice, a law firm in South Carolina, says they want to hold social media companies accountable for the harm those sites have caused to kids.
“If it does rule in the favor of the class and there are some financial pieces that go back to schools to offset some of the support we have to put in place, then we want to be able to take advantage of that,” Mulford said.
He says they want to limit screen time for the district’s elementary and middle school students.
“Lesser screen time is important for proper brain development and that the more a student is on an electronic device and may actually prohibit learning,” Mulford said.
Hinton thinks this is a good idea because they’re at the age where they should be focused on their education instead of their electronics.
She says they reciprocate the bad things they see online and bring it to school.
“So, that also causes issues there,” Hinton said.
At the high school, the district is putting in rules about when their electronics should be used and when they shouldn’t be.
“If we’re not enhancing learning, then we’re not using technology for things like free time,” Mulford said.
Hinton says she noticed students are on their phones 99% of the time, not getting their work done which leads them to getting a bad grade.
“I would understand that taking into place, being able to get on their phones after they finish their work will make more sense,” Hinton said.
Streett says she will respect the guidelines.
“I think whatever it takes to get the kids to get the job done and learn more and more, I think I don’t really mind much,” Streett said.
Mulford says the district is the first in Arkansas to join a class action lawsuit against social media, and he hopes other districts will join the social media lawsuit too.