When you walk into a homeroom at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) before the morning bell that signals it’s time to put phones away, the majority of students will have their eyes locked on their screens, unaware of the world around them, seeking a final few minutes of screen time.
According to a 2019 survey conducted by Common Sense Media, teenagers are viewing screens for an average of 7.5 hours a day beyond the screen time used for schoolwork. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry recommends limiting recreational screen time to one to two hours per day, focusing on high-quality content. This gap in the recommended time versus actual habits raises the question, What makes it so difficult to just put down the device?
Phones are designed for addiction. A large majority of the apps providing constant distractions for teenagers are simultaneously causing an alarming production of dopamine in their brains. Dopamine is critical to the brain’s reward center. It’s the “happy chemical” that creates a false feedback loop and drives home our desire to engage with that app or device even further. With every notification, every “like” we receive on a post, every funny video we watch, our brain gets a little hit of dopamine.
Jared Andrews, MVRHS’ director of student affairs, says that the Yondr pouches have made a positive difference in the school environment because they take away the option of that automatic reach.
“[Smartphones] were out in the hallways, nobody’s really talking, you’re not genuinely communicating with each other. In the cafeteria, study halls, it was all cell phones and [laptops]. It was difficult, too, because teachers would try to collect phones at the beginning of class and then hand them back at the end of class, and that equals anywhere from 10 to 12 minutes of time, just taking away from the curriculum. Our main goal continues to be to make MVRHS more of a phone-free environment,” Andrews said.
Freshman Lucy Doyle spoke to the experience the majority of students have when trying to do schoolwork when there’s a phone nearby, or when a more enticing Google tab is a click away. “I’ll be working on an essay or other schoolwork, and then turn to my phone, and then realize I’ve been on there for five minutes,” Lucy said. “It becomes repetitive, and what I need to be doing gets worked on in very small increments, because I’m getting distracted very easily.”
While many continue to struggle with managing their relationship with screens, some students are starting to take it upon themselves to limit screen time.
Freshman Ana Clara Sodre made the decision to quit social media two months ago, and is raving about the benefits. She said, “One of the biggest benefits is that my attention span has grown so much. I’ve been able to focus on one thing for much longer. I’ve been able to slow down, and I also have been loving reading.”
She added that she can more easily recognize her own ideas, as her brain doesn’t feel as crowded with everyone else’s. “I feel like when I was gaining all this information, my brain just wasn’t giving itself time to breathe and make its own ideas,” she said. “It’s helped my grades, also. I am able to get all the things done and have time to just relax.”