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Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Virginia Screen-Free Week encourages you to unplug for a bit
Over 40% of teens with the highest social media use rate their overall mental health as poor or very poor, according to according to the American Psychological Association. (Photo by Daniel de) Gov. Glenn Youngkin dubbed April 14-19 Virginia Screen-Free Week, which the governor's administration encourages citizens of all ages to observe by reducing their time on digital devices and increasing activities that promote human connection, physical activity and improved mental health. Virginia Screen-Free week includes resources and activity guides for parents and children, schools and communities and is an extension of the work Youngkin and lawmakers have undertaken to counter the negative impacts excessive social media and screen time can have on developing minds. 'By reducing distractions and supporting healthier screen use, we are creating space for deeper learning, stronger relationships, and more meaningful engagement—both in and out of the classroom,' Education Secretary Aimee Rogstad Guidera said in a Monday release about Virginia Screen-Free Week . A 2023 Gallup survey revealed that teens who spend five or more hours per day on social media apps were more likely to report negative emotions compared to those who use social media less than two hours a day. In response, Youngkin launched initiatives to encourage and enforce time away from phones in classrooms, which the administration said can offer students a few hours most days to focus on their studies instead of their devices. The governor's Executive Order 43 established the Reclaiming Childhood Task Force, which analyzed social media and screen times' role in mental health, while last summer's Executive Order 33 directed state agencies to draft guidance for how schools could implement cell phone-free policies. Youngkin signs executive order to establish 'cell phone-free education' in Va. public schools Virginia lawmakers introduced legislation this year to allow local school boards flexibility over how cell phones and smart devices are governed in classrooms. Youngkin has since signed the bills, carried by Del. Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke and Sen. Stella Pekarsky, D-Fairfax. Rasoul told The Mercury in February that the legislation enables age-appropriate policies across different schools but has exceptions for students with disabilities that rely on electronic devices to communicate. The proposal also prevents harsh disciplinary measures to ensure that violating the school's phone policy alone wouldn't lead to suspensions or expulsions. Last week, U.S. Rep. Eugene Vindman, D- Fredericksburg, introduced federal legislation that could take phone-free school policies nationwide, if passed. Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt — whose book, 'The Anxious Generation,' focused on social media's connections to youth mental health — provided a statement in the press release about Vindman's bill. 'Schools that go phone free almost always report increased student engagement, decreased disciplinary problems,' Haidt said. 'And, most touchingly, teachers say that they hear laughter in the hallways again.' Virginia scholars have weighed in on the family and education benefits of limiting screen use, as well. Longwood University professors Sarai and Adam Blincoe enjoy a low-tech lifestyle when it comes to cell phone, laptop or tablet use and are also raising their young children with little screen time. On a cross-country road trip last summer, their kids only watched two movies, they said in an interview. Sarai is a psychology professor and Adam is a philosophy professor; their shared interest in how cell phones affect people has infused their work. In 2021, they published a research paper based on input from their students, who they encouraged to test out a lower-tech lifestyle outside of the classroom while surrendering their devices inside its walls. Sarai offered students extra credit for disregarding their phones during class time and solicited surveys from them later in the semester. Sixty-five percent of students reported more cognizance of their cell phone use habits as a result, 50% reported how the practice affected cell phone use in other classes, and about 15% reported how the habits carried over to their cell phone use outside of class time. 'I feel that (functioning cell phone-free) has increased my focus in class,' one student wrote. 'Ever since I realized how much more focused I am without my phone … I have found myself leaving my phone in my backpack or sometimes in my dorm room.' Meanwhile, Adam's research tested student responses to device-free time outside of classroom environments. Students were required to pick a novel to read in book form, rather than on a device. Students shared that the exercise reminded them of the joy of reading in particular, but also encouraged them to carve out leisure time more broadly. Adam also required students to take three 20-minute walks without their phones per week. 'I witnessed genuine relief when students realized that they had permission to opt out of the phone even for small periods of time,' he said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ban on students' use of cellphones during class time heads to governor's desk
Public school students will not be allowed to use cellphones during class time, at a minimum, under legislation headed to the governor's desk. (Stock photo by Daniel de) Gov. Kim Reynolds said Tuesday she intends to sign a bill setting a statewide ban on public school students using cellphones during class time. The Iowa House passed the bill, which the governor introduced in January, on a 92-4 vote Tuesday and sent it to her desk. 'Digital distractions are at an all-time high, disrupting focus, learning, and productivity in our classrooms,' Reynolds said in a statement. 'Iowa students deserve to learn free from the disruption of personal electronic devices to fully focus on their education. We've seen tremendous progress in student behavior and engagement at our schools that have already implemented such policies. I look forward to signing this bill, allowing every Iowa student to once again prioritize learning.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX House File 782 would require Iowa's K-12 public school boards to adopt a policy beginning in the 2025-2026 school year that, at minimum, bans the use of personal electronic devices during instructional periods. Boards have the option of restricting the use of phones in schools, including a full ban on the use of cellphones during the school day. The Iowa Department of Education is required to develop and distribute a model policy to schools. There are some exceptions to the ban for students who have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 plan that requires accommodations that involves the use of a cellphone or another device, and in cases where a parent has petitioned the school district and established a 'legitimate' reason related to a student's mental or physical health that requires them to have a cellphone accessible during class. The measure had been passed by the House in March, but it was sent back after the Senate amended the bill requiring the state education department to create and distribute the model policy for school personal electronic use by May 1. The House approved this amendment, though Rep. Heather Matson, D-Ankeny, expressed concerns that it was a 'a little bit of a tight time frame' for the department unless the model policy is already constructed. An provision in earlier versions of the bill that would have required students in grades 6 through 8 take 'effects of social media' training was not included in the passed legislation. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ban on cell phone use during K-8 school hours in Georgia goes to the governor
A ban on cell phone usage in schools up through middle school is on its way to Gov. Brian Kemp's desk. Stock photo by Daniel de) Your kids' TikTok, Fortnite and SnapChat usage could be about to plummet – a bill banning personal devices like cell phones is on the way to Gov. Brian Kemp's desk after it passed the Senate nearly unanimously Tuesday. Some individual districts already have bans in place, but the bill would apply to all kids through middle school and be in effect from the first morning bell to the dismissal bell starting next July. 'Schools that have done it have literally been transformed,' said the bill's author, Peachtree Corners Republican Rep. Scott Hilton, after the Senate vote. 'We've heard some of that in the testimony on the floor that the lunchrooms now, kids are talking, they're interacting, they're socializing. So this isn't just an academic bill, this is a mental health bill, it's a public safety bill.' The bill does not specify how schools should ban devices. Some schools have kids put their devices in a locked box or a bag that hangs on the back of the classroom door, others use special locking pouches that the students carry around but that can only be unlocked by the teacher. Only two senators voted against the bill, Republican Sen. Greg Dolezal of Cumming and Sen. Colton Moore of Trenton, but some Democrats expressed agita at the legislation. Duluth Democrat Nabilah Islam Parkes proposed an amendment that would exempt e-readers like Amazon Kindles from the ban. As passed, the bill would ban any 'personal electronic device,' but still allow for school-owned devices with the teacher's approval. 'Kids aren't just reading paperbacks anymore, they're reading on Kindles, on Nooks, on tools that are built specifically for learning,' Islam Parkes said. 'E-readers don't have TikTok, you don't text on them, they don't let you scroll. I agree with banning distractions, not learning.' Sen. RaShaun Kemp, an Atlanta Democrat who was formerly a teacher and principal, said he was torn on the bill because he has seen the ways cell phones can contribute to bullying, but he said phones can also be a lifeline in emergencies. 'We've already seen this happen, not just here in Georgia, but across the country. Time and time again, when a crazed gunman decided to take the lives of our children while they sat in their desks, it was the calls of students that got emergency services there, it was their text to their parents letting them know they were alive that gave every parent a glimmer of hope,' he said. 'While I support this bill – I actually think it should go up to 12th grade – I implore, I beg my colleagues, for the sake of our children and educators to do something about guns,' he added. 'Do something so that we no longer put ourselves in this position where we make sound policy decisions but neglect what our students are really asking for, to be safe in their classrooms.' Sen. Jason Anavitarte, the Dallas Republican who carried the bill in the Senate, said emergency situations require calm and structure. 'My advice during an emergency at a school, while we know that parents are scared, parents are worried about where their kids are, parents are worried about what's happening at a moment's notice – trusting law enforcement, trusting the first responders and following the instructions when emergency text messages, alerts or other things are put out by an individual school or school district I think are important, and this bill does not infringe on any of those communication methods that school districts use now or would develop or use in the future.' Speaking to reporters after the Senate vote, Hilton indicated that high schoolers' days of texting in class may be numbered with an expansion to the bill possible as soon as next year's session. 'Based on the feedback that I've got, we do have a problem in 9 through 12, and it's the nuance of how do we address that, but I do imagine in a future session, we're going back to think deeply about what we do in high school,' he said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Va.'s plan to restrict social media for minors faces pushback and calls for tighter safeguards
Teeangers using their smartphones. (Stock photo by Daniel de) As Virginia moves to limit social media access for minors under 16, a national child safety group is urging Gov. Glenn Youngkin to strengthen protections for families navigating the digital world. The Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) is calling on the governor to make parental controls more accessible and user-friendly as he reviews recently passed legislation aimed at addressing the growing concerns over social media's impact on children's well-being. 'We really want families to have these conversations about how much time you should be spending on certain apps and engaging the entire family in these online discussions about your digital lives,' said Marissa Edmund, policy specialist at FOSI, a non-profit organization focused on making the internet safer for kids and their families. Edmund said FOSI applauds Virginia's efforts to prioritize children's online safety, emphasizing that policy decisions should be rooted in evidence and research. Among the group's key recommendations: integrating digital media literacy and ensuring that parents can implement uniform safety settings across all devices and apps. Youngkin has yet to indicate whether he will push for changes to the proposal. Before his departure, spokesman Christian Martinez said the governor is currently reviewing 917 bills passed by the General Assembly, noting that 'it's common that during this time, hundreds of stakeholders write letters seeking action.' Last November, Youngkin launched Reconsidering Childhood, a statewide initiative aimed at reducing excessive screen time and protecting children from social media addiction. The campaign encourages Virginians to pledge a 25% reduction in their time spent on smart devices this year. Senate Bill 854, sponsored by Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-Henrico, aims to curb excessive screen time by limiting minors to one hour of social media use per service per day while giving parents the ability to adjust that cap. It also includes provisions to ensure that data collected for age verification is used solely for that purpose. A separate, stricter measure introduced by Del. Josh Thomas, D-Prince William, sought to require parental consent for minors to access 'addictive' feeds, which generate content recommendations based on user activity. That bill, however, failed in the House General Laws Communications Subcommittee. Thomas said he was concerned that social media algorithms could expose children to content they had not intentionally sought out, making parental involvement necessary. Social media companies pushed back, arguing that such regulations could reduce the relevance of content for minors while placing an unreasonable burden on parents. Some companies have pointed to existing parental control tools that already allow families to limit what children see online. VanValkenburg's current bill leaves out addictive feed restrictions, a provision that was included in a similar measure he proposed last year. Instead, it focuses on the responsibilities and prohibitions placed on social media companies, particularly it comes to verifiable parental consent and age verification. His 2024 bill never made it out of the House General Laws Subcommittee, largely due to concerns from lawmakers and technology industry representatives about how companies would comply with the law without clear guidelines or penalties. The Virginia Joint Commission on Technology and Science (JCOTS) later examined the issue and found that existing age verification laws are 'ineffective' in protecting children from harmful content. A report from the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC) noted that these laws often fail to uphold their intended purpose. Virginia's efforts are part of a growing national debate over online safety for minors, with more than 40 states introducing or passing laws aimed at strengthening protections on social media or adult content websites. According to the ICMEC study, 19 states now require websites that host a significant amount of mature content to verify the ages of users before granting access, while 27 states have enacted laws requiring social media companies to confirm the ages of users and adjust the online experience for minors. Some of these laws mandate verifiable parental guardian consent before a child can download an app or place restrictions on content algorithms that promote addictive engagement. ICMEC has raised concerns that such laws also create data privacy risks, forcing users to submit personal information across multiple platforms and increasing the likelihood of data breaches and misuse. The organization also cited constitutional challenges related to protected speech and described enforcement on a per-platform basis as 'infeasible.' Despite these concerns, JCOTS still recommended the proposal to the General Assembly, suggesting that lawmakers define key social media features — such as infinite scrolling and autoplay — to better understand how such policies could impact the Office of the Attorney General. VanValkenburg's latest bill has incorporated expanded definitions and includes feedback from Virginia's chief prosecutor to address some of these concerns. While the final version of the legislation is not exactly what he originally envisioned, VanValkenburg said the revised bill still accomplishes its intended goal. 'What we have now is a slightly different bill that I think gets to the same purposes, maybe not exactly like I wanted to, but I think it actually is substantive and does a good job,' VanValkenburg said during his return to the House General Laws subcommittee in February. The bill now awaits Youngkin's decision. He has until later this month to either amend or approve the legislation as written. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawmakers' obscenity purge focuses on wrong targets
Iowa lawmakers are trying to scrub obscenity from public libraries. (Stock photo by Daniel de) The Iowa Legislature wants to keep sexually explicit materials out of the hands of minors. That seems like a reasonable enough goal, but lawmakers are going about it wrong. A bill moving through the Iowa House, House File 274, wants to scrub any potential obscenity from public schools and libraries. As state law stands, public schools, libraries, and educational programs are allowed to use 'appropriate material for educational purposes' without being subject to obscenity penalties. This doesn't mean teachers can screen pornographic films or hand out smutty romance novels. It means health teachers can show diagrams of the human reproductive systems. It means English teachers use literature that deals with themes of the challenges of adolescence such as the onset of the menstrual cycle described in Judy Blume's classic 'Are You There, God? It's Me Margaret.' Lawmakers say this isn't their target. They want to get rid of stuff that panders to prurient interest, basically sexual material designed to arouse rather than inform. Reasonable people can agree that's a good idea. But for a Republican-controlled legislature, the targeting of schools and library is incredibly poor marksmanship. The idea that minor children are using schools and libraries as even a tertiary source for obscene material is laughable. I'm in my third year of teaching middle school English. This was the first year anyone asked me how to check out a book from the school library. I've had to stop more students from writing curse words and drawing crude depictions of male genitalia in books than I've ever had to ask a kid to stop reading books other than the required text. I had one student who tried to read manga comics instead of the required text. It pained me some to make the student put it away. I hid comic books between the covers of my social studies textbooks in Mrs. Mathis' class at Winterset Middle School. It looked like I was studying the difference between temperate and tropical forests, but I was really reading Spider-Man latest battle with the Hobgoblin. A thousand years ago, back in the 1980s, a kid had to work to get their hands on materials pandering to the prurient interest. You had to have a buddy whose dad wasn't careful with where he left the Playboy magazines or a friend whose mom got the Victoria's Secret catalog. Even then I didn't go to the library to find pictures of naked women. I went to the library to play 'Oregon Trail' game on the Apple IIe and check out books on the history of newspaper comics. Yeah, I was always this big of a nerd. Much has changed since the 1900s. Kids who want to see obscene materials don't go to school or library to get it. They just pull their internet-connect smartphone out of their pocket. Lawmakers move bills aimed at stopping minors' access to obscene materials, porn As much as one-fifth of internet searches on mobile devices are for adult content, according to a Columbia University study. And that data only related to adults ages 18-35. Common Sense Media reports as many as 60% of teenagers come across the adult material while using their smartphones without actively searching for it. Other students say as many as 20% of older adolescents deliberately access adult websites on their smartphones. I'd wager, at least as it comes to boys, about 79% of the rest are lying. The only thing HF 274 will do is make it easier for the most puritanical members of communities to tie up teachers and librarians in court procedures and potentially get them slapped with fines. Instead of picking on underfunded schools and libraries and underpaid teachers and librarians, the members of the Iowa General Assembly should think bigger. Go full China. Shut down the internet in Iowa. Replace it with a service that tells the people what a good job the government is doing protecting them from all the evils of the world. I am not what anyone who knows me would describe as an optimist, but I choose to believe that's not what lawmakers really want to do. The solution lies with families taking a more active — and if so desired — stricter approach to what media their kids consume, what they access on their technology, and how many hours a day they're on those devices. Lawmakers are considering a bill that would require age verification for websites that post pornographic and obscene materials. That might help, but our school has a robust system to block many websites. The students quickly master the way around them. Again, the burden falls less on government and more on families and caretakers to set standards and limit device time. This isn't a solution for government. One would think self-described small-government Republicans would be the first to recognize that. But it's my experience that politicians of any stripe don't truly want smaller government. They just want to use power of government to push around people who have different ideas than theirs. This column first appeared on Daniel P. Finney's blog, The Paragraph Stacker on Substack. It is republished here through the Iowa Writers' Collaborative. Editor's note: Please consider subscribing to the collaborative and its member writers to support their work.
