Long-View’s Perspective and Stance on Technology, Social Media and AI
Over the course of the last year, the Long-View teaching team spent a great deal of time thinking about technology use within the age bracket of our children at Long-View. While we want to teach our kids how to harness technology and leverage it for future work/career, we are also concerned about the negative impacts of daily technology use on young brains and on children’s social systems. The negative effects seen at Long-View are typical of what all schools experience and include tired kids who stay up way past their bedtimes because of device usage or who experience disrupted sleep from backlit screens; individuals feeling left out or hurt because of group text chats; and friendships wounded due to impulsive text messages.
In addition, the AI surge has really caught our attention as we work to teach independent, critical thought. We are doing everything we can at school to talk about these issues and to teach productive and safe usage of technology. We are also mindful that today’s technology consists of consumption enablement devices, as perhaps compared to the computing and programming devices of a generation or more ago.
We have compiled our thoughts on select topics—the ones that impact children and school life the most. We ask that families at Long-View, as well as prospective parents, join us in helping our community take a stronger stance related to social media, text messaging, and smartphones. Our recommendations are generally grounded in limiting exposure to certain media/content and limiting unsupervised time with devices for children within Long-View’s age range.
Social Media: Last year, the U.S. Surgeon General issued an advisory report discussing the effects of social media on youth mental health. A few months ago, the U.S. Surgeon General advocated for a warning label on social media platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, etc. The results of the emerging research are unsettling: more than 40% of children ages 8-12 use social media and nearly 95% of youth ages 13-17 are on social media platforms. The Long-View team takes these reports seriously, especially, since evermore frequently, we see children struggle with symptoms discussed in these reports: anxiety and depression, poor body image, poor sleep, cyberbullying, etc. Based on substantial research, including the popular work of social psychologist Johnathan Haidt, the longer you delay social media usage, the better chance you have of blunting the negative effects and allure of social media.
To mitigate these effects on our learning community, it is our hope that our children at Long-View will refrain from using social media until high school. Our suggestion is no earlier than 16 and our ask is that families wait until after their time at Long-View.
Group Texting/Chatting: Group texting and group chats cause far more pain than happiness within the age groups at Long-View. Group chats often involve kids saying things they’d never say in person to one another. Moreover, the forum amplifies group think, impulsive comments, and unkind behaviors. This is especially complicated for young adolescents who are also seeking acceptance, vying for allegiance, working toward self-differentiation, and beginning to encounter powerful feelings related to puberty. From our end, it is nothing but a mess and even though it all happens outside of the bounds of the school day, it can have a huge impact on our learning community.
To mitigate the negative effects of texting/chatting on our learning community, it is our request that children are not able to engage in group texting or chatting until after 6th grade. In 7th and 8th grades, we believe any group texts/chats should have a “parent present” and the parent should engage in discussions with their child (and/or their child’s friends) should a particular episode warrant intervention and support. (We are defining “parent present” as a parent who is on the actual text/chat chain or actively monitoring it.)
Computers/Smartphones: It is our recommendation that children do not have a smartphone before high school and only conduct computer work in a common room (e.g. living room or kitchen). You should monitor weekly not only your child’s screen time but also HOW they spend their time on screens—this includes internet searches and YouTube history. They need guardrails. Any computer a child has access to requires blocking of explicit/illicit content sites and the use of parental control software. Children also need concerned and vigilant adults coaching into the complexities and palpable dangers of searching content and developing relationships on the internet. In particular, the proliferation of—and ready access to—pornographic content on the internet/social media/gaming, on devices, and in group text chains is exposing escalating numbers of children to troubling or traumatic content at a formative stage of development. Like families at home, we do all we can to monitor them at school, but they are savvy (and accidents happen!) and the more supportive adults they have around them taking the time to care about how and what they explore, the better.
To mitigate negative effects on our learning community, we ask that parents delay giving their child a smartphone until high school and monitor (randomly or proactively) internet searches through 8th grade. (We also recommend that families ensure children can’t delete their browsing history—this is the case on all Long-View accounts). And as a reminder, smart watches and phones are not recommended in general and definitely are not to be used during school hours. We prefer that no phones or smartwatches are on campus because of the distractions and temptations they pose, even when they are in a child’s backpack during school hours. (If a family determines that their child needs a communication device, we would recommend an old flip phone—the kind with only calling and simple text messaging available.)
AI: AI is new to educators and we are trying to understand how best to teach our learners about it. One thing we know for sure: just as learners don’t work with calculators in Math Block, they don’t work with AI-supported applications to assist them with their literacy projects, lab reports, math papers, etc. In an effort to keep AI technology from interfering with our learners’ development as independent thinkers and writers across disciplines, we’ve disabled Google Gemini on all Long-View accounts. We ask that families help us in our efforts at home, too. If a child is working on a school project at home, we ask that families direct him/her to work from their Long-View account. If a family shares a machine, please sign out of other family members’ accounts before letting them work on that computer.
To mitigate children utilizing AI when they instead need to be reading, thinking critically, drafting, or summarizing information independently, please disable Google Gemini and other AI-supported technology, or have your child work on school projects using their Long-View account.
Our stance is not to block out AI entirely from the discussion. We encourage opportunities where you can share the pros and cons of AI, dangers & responsibilities of AI, etc. with children at home. If any questions arise that parents think might be better addressed by our computer science department, we hope families feel free to write them down and send them with their learner.
Information regarding Long-View Google Accounts:
All children in our oldest bands have Google accounts that provide access to Google products, including email, Google Drive/Docs and Google Classroom. They are not allowed to use the Long-View email account or Long-View Google Drive for anything other than school academic work. They should never use these accounts for emailing family members or their friends or for storing personal documents. It is acceptable, however, for children in these bands to send emails to teachers and bandmates regarding classwork or projects. We suggest that parents look through their child’s email, email trash, google drive, and google search history from time to time.
All children in our youngest bands have a Google account. They do not have access to email. The Google accounts are only to be used at school or with parent permission. Generally, these bands use Google Docs/Drive from time to time for writing projects or science work. At times, Google Classroom is used within the class period as a means of accessing/sharing materials. Should your child mention an academic task or resource they are trying to access, families should feel free to call/text the Long-View phone during school hours to double check with us that it is legitimate since kids often ask to use a computer when it is not needed.
If you are wanting a resource to help you conduct discussions with your child about the complexity of tech usage, we recommend: Teaching Digital Well-being: Evidence-based Resources to Help Youth Thrive.
It is our greatest hope and aim that, with mindful adults leading the way, our learners will develop into the strong critical thinkers and mentally healthy people we know they will be. Nothing is simple for us as parents and educators in regards to navigating this terrain; together we will do our best on behalf of our children!