Year 8 - Digital Safety
Many school students in this day and age have become severely addicted to PCs, smartphones, and laptops. Studies show that the average daily screen time is 7 to 9 hours, reaching up to 42 hours per week. That is nearly equivalent to a full school week spent on mindless doom scrolling and "brain rot." The impacts of spending days on end online can vary from mental fatigue, a lack of awareness, and insecurity to a drop in intelligence and severe, worsening addiction. Social media platforms like YouTube and TikTok are among the most used apps on phones, followed by messaging apps including Snapchat and Instagram. If you know a child or someone else struggling with device addiction, you can take action by following these steps: remove devices from bedrooms at night, set up strict device restrictions, enforce consequences for accessing or playing inappropriate content, and place firm time limits on games and overall screen time. By Flint
Screen addiction is a highly negative consequence of screens and online platforms. But what exactly is screen addiction, and why is it so bad? Screen addiction is a dependency on social media, doom scrolling, or being on a device 24/7. Having a screen addiction is bad for yourself, and it can sometimes affect others as well. Being addicted to devices can affect you in various ways, such as being deprived of sleep, which leads to falling asleep in class and reducing your focus—ultimately making it hard to learn at school. It can also cause social isolation, which can make you a less friendly person to be friends with. All of these examples will affect both you and those around you. Some ways that you can stop your screen addiction are to set screen timers, keep your phone on silent, use your device in a productive way, or even just go outside and keep busy! By Farrah
Using devices can lead to many different side effects, such as poor sleep quality, experiencing a lot of brain fog, and a total loss of control. For instance, you can end up with bags under your eyes when you tell yourself you are only going to watch one "Short," but you ultimately end up losing count of how many shorts you have actually watched. By Lane
Too much screen time can be a real problem for teens because it’s easy to get addicted to phones, games, and social media. When teens spend hours staring at a screen, they might lose sleep, struggle to focus in school, or stop doing things they enjoy in real life. It can also make them feel stressed or left out if they’re always comparing themselves to others online. Screens aren’t all bad, they can be fun and helpful but using them too much can mess with mood, health, and daily routines. By Rykie & Honor
If you are struggling to manage your device time, here are some tips: set a timer when using a device, and put your phone on silent. When you go to sleep, place devices you do not need—like controllers and laptops—in a different room. You can also listen to music while you clean, cook, or do other activities. Alternatively, you can leave your phone inside the house and go outside. If you have a Google Home router, you can even pause internet access on certain devices for as long as you want or change the Wi-Fi password. Sore eyes, sleep disruptions, anxiety, and stress are all signs of device problems. This bad habit disrupts your daily routine and impacts your well-being because it causes problems with physical health, disrupts sleep, and strains your brain. By Sophie