In NBC News’ conducted over the summer, most of the 550 principals surveyed said students��� smartphones are worsening the conditions noted above, distracting students from classwork, and increasing interpersonal conflicts and bullying. Among the other most notable impacts, principals also reported that female students are suffering more than boys.

More than nine in 10 principals said student mental health is declining even as young people are more aware of social-emotional issues. Almost the same number of building leaders blame smartphones for distracting and fatiguing students. Nearly 85% said the devices increase bullying and student conflict while three-quarters noted worsening depression and anxiety.

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Just 5% believed smartphones make students more productive or improve mental health by helping young people connect to communities online.

Nearly 80% of principals said girls suffer the most negative impacts from smartphones while only about 4% said the same about boys. Here are the numbers of principals who also said:

• 14%: Students are allowed to use smartphones in class.
• 30%: Teachers require students to use smartphones for instruction.
• 33%: School staff struggle to police smartphone use.
• 69%: Social media is “more likely to make students feel lonely and depressed than it is to make them feel accepted and happy.”
• 85%: “Positive impacts from smartphones and social media are rare.”
• 64%: Support minimum ages for social media accounts.
• 38%: Parents support smartphone restrictions.
• 16 is the appropriate age for students to get smartphones; many students get them at age 9.
• 80%: It is safer for students to stay off their phones during a mass shooting or other emergency and pay attention to instructions inside the school.
• 47%: Teachers’ use of smartphones sets a bad example for students.

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In an op-ed published in油油on Monday, Murthy wrote that the mental health crisis among America’s youth is an emergency, and social media is a primary cause.

“Adolescents who spend more than three hours a day on social media face double the of anxiety and depression symptoms, and the average daily use in this age group, as of the summer of 2023, was ,” he wrote. “Additionally, say social media makes them feel worse about their bodies.”

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Murthy also contends that while a surgeon general’s warning might better inform parents and keep kids off social media, more needs to be done. He also油argues legislation is necessary to protect young people from online dangers, including:

• Online harassment
• Abuse
• Exploitation
• Exposure to extreme violence and sexual content

Congress should act to prevent social media companies from collecting sensitive, personal data and to restrict push notifications, autoplay, infinite scroll and other features “which prey on developing brains and contribute to excessive use,” Murthy asserted.

Companies should also be forced to publicize any data they’ve collected on social media’s health effects. As of now, there is no such requirement. “While the platforms claim they are making their products safer, Americans need more than words,” he concluded. “We need proof.”

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The resulting lockdowns and school closures are also traumatizing students and staff, the RAND Corporation contends in on how school leaders can better handle social media threats.

The most recent data available shows threats rose by 60% from 2021 to 2022, and they remain a too-common part of K12 life. “When responding to a threat, schools must balance the risk that a threat might be credible with the trauma and disruption that repeated responses to hoax threats induce,” the report’s authors write.

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A survey conducted for the report found that students and others in the community are not fully aware of the consequences of posting threats and hoaxes. Educators should therefore build a “reporting culture” so students, parents and others feel comfortable reporting threats they find on social media.

School leaders should work with law enforcement to develop a response plan that starts discreetly, at a lower intensity, and scales up rapidly if a threat is credible. “Habituating students and school staff to certain response measures can potentially alleviate the fear and trauma that they might otherwise cause during threats and other emergencies,” the authors advise.

The report recommends:

1. Responses to social media���based threats have to balance risks of under- and over-reactions and include options for intensification as a threat evolves.
2. Clear command and control protocols are essential as the investigations of threats���particularly anonymous ones���must be multi-pronged efforts involving school personnel, law enforcement and other specialists, such as psychologists.
3. Schools need national guidelines for assessing the credibility of threats, balancing and escalating responses, using common vocabulary with law enforcement, and communicating with families and the broader community during a threat situation.
4. Schools should accustom students and staff to emergency measures to make responses less traumatizing.
5. Educators should use surveillance tools with caution and inform students about the consequences of making threats.

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TikTok’s short videos are so wildly popular among young people that they’re spurring protests against potential bans by Congress. It’s worth considering: What makes TikTok so captivating and why are so many drawn to its original user-generated content? Could elements of TikTok���s appeal be integrated into curriculum design?

If students created their own learning content, rather than passively consuming adult-produced materials, educators could more effectively capture and hold their attention. My decades in youth development have shown me the limitless creativity that students bring to their learning experiences when given the chance.

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It���s time to rethink the traditional educational model that positions adults as the gatekeepers of knowledge and students as passive recipients. Imagine the possibilities if those responsible for creating learning content unleashed the creativity that young people show on TikTok and applied it to generating curricula. How better to ensure that content is meaningful and engaging to students than by involving them in its design?

Publishers must upend the model of adults as providers and youth as receivers or���at best, reviewers���and let young people have a deeper role in designing their own learning.

Leveraging students’ social media savvy

Engaging students is a national priority for educators, with formal efforts led by the National Education Association, who highlight issues that have an unmistakable impact on students’ engagement, like attendance and hunger. But what about classroom content? TikTok and other social platforms demonstrate the concept often called “.” They inspire and hold young people’s interest by reflecting their own experiences and connecting them with others���.

Global Nomads Group, the organization I lead, is grounded in this concept. With similar inspiration but founded a decade before the first social media was created, our mission is to build connections among young people through safe digital spaces where they can express themselves, share their stories, and connect with peers.

We���ve launched an internship program for youth to create online courses on topics of interest to them. Navigating borders, datelines, and cultures, more than 150 young people from 26 countries have worked remotely to craft online courses on a wide range of issues using the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals as a guide.

With their classmates and peers as their target audience, they design age-appropriate course materials aligned with recognized learning standards like CASEL’s and the Asia Society Global Competence standards. Using curriculum design backward mapping tools derived from the work of Grant Wiggins and Jay McTigue, they plan their curricula, collaborate in multinational, multicultural, youth-led teams, organize their planning meetings and work responsibilities, and create multimedia learning content and tools.

The interns��� content is compelling, resonating with their peers, who have a keen sensibility for detecting authenticity. Young people possess a natural understanding of what might hook their classmates. The cohort working on what would eventually become our ‘Student To World’ Women’s Rights course began the unit focusing on beauty standards. Rather than diving into a drier history or reviewing terms or policies, they found a way to make the topic relatable and universal. Students see themselves in the content.

This generation can produce substantive and rigorous educational content through teamwork, curiosity and determination. They are unafraid to tackle challenging conversations and broach taboo subjects. More often than not, they surpass educational standards with finesse and maturity, handling feedback with grace and curiosity, particularly on topics like ableism and disability justice in learning design.

As the future of TikTok in the US hangs in the balance, its appeal to youth offers lessons for education. Social media platforms like TikTok have something to offer learners. A carefully crafted design can capture and use their benefits for instructional materials while managing their negative aspects.

Following the usual recipes will fail to engage students in a way that will encourage them to seek out knowledge in school settings. Imagine young people uniting en masse to advocate for and create their classroom content!

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TikTok has faced continuous scrutiny since its inception, primarily due to persistent privacy violations, including extensive data scraping and lack of user consent. These infractions have led to data breaches and allegations of unauthorized collection of personal information by the company. Most recently, the U.S. House of Representatives even passed a bill meant to force parent company ByteDance to sell TikTok to a U.S. company or face an outright ban.

It’s crucial for educators to recognize that content posted on the internet���especially on a platform like TikTok���remains accessible indefinitely and infinitely and presents great risk to a child if it contains their personal information. Unsafe online data-sharing practices can lead to severe consequences for students, including grooming, cyberbullying, image manipulation, identity theft, and the creation of AI-generated deepfakes.

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Additionally, teachers and schools expose themselves to potential legal issues from various angles. While I am sure many educators strive to employ safe practices when sharing content, they may not possess a comprehensive understanding of the privacy protocols required in every platform, even with the best intentions.

As someone with over two decades of experience in news publishing and digital media disruption, and currently serving as the CEO of a consent-driven media management platform for schools, I am troubled to discover that many teachers on #teachersoftiktok are (unknowingly or not) exposing unrestricted personal data of students through videos, some of which even reveal the faces and voices of children.

I don���t blame these teachers for not being aware of this indiscretion, however for the protection of our students, teachers and administrators must have more clarity around safety and privacy protocols for TikTok in the classroom. For example, is the school or district allowing teachers to publish classroom content on TikTok? If so, do teachers know the steps required to protect their students��� privacy and data on TikTok?

6 tips for teachers

1. Relevant privacy law is complex and varies from state to state, with individual districts often serving as the guardians of the decision-making process. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act does not prohibit teachers from recording or posting school material, but teachers are still responsible for safeguarding students.

Recent litigation against media companies by parents and schools throughout the U.S. should serve as the warning of how fast irresponsible social media use can ricochet. Teachers and administrators, ensure you are upholding your ���duty of care��� to protect student privacy when posting online.

2. The first, best way to protect students would be to avoid TikTok altogether and find another, more private channel for sharing with your school community.

3. If you do decide to record content in class and share it on social media, make sure you have notified parents that you are doing this and seek their consent before publishing. Trust me, there will be parents out there who don���t want their child���s face posted on TikTok for the reasons outlined above.

4. Minimize sharing of student personal information���yours or that of students���online. Even if you have consent to share students’ faces or names on Tik Tok, you should not reveal any additional personal information that could be used to identify, target or locate a student or steal their identity.

5. Be overly cautious and double-check your photos and videos before publishing. It’s easy to overlook student names on desks, jerseys and name tags. Before posting, always check twice for these kinds of details as well as what���s happening in the background.

6. Seek assistance from your school to find a media publishing tool that filters photos based on whether a parent has provided consent. Such tools preventing unwanted disclosures take the guesswork and risk out of the sharing or publishing process, saving you time, stress and parent heartache.

I anticipate that this debate surrounding TikTok’s use in schools will continue and drive the adoption of stricter security measures either on a school-by-school/district basis or through legislation.

Teachers, as always, stand at the forefront of this evolution. Those who adopt consistent guidelines and prioritize student safety in collaboration with schools and parents can mitigate the risks associated with social media sharing.

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You’ll find Watlington actively engaging with his community���and other district leaders around the country���on LinkedIn and Instagram, the latter of which he says resonates the most with his student advisory council members.

Like most superintendents, he takes a celebratory approach to content creation, highlighting some of the district’s recent accomplishments and partnerships with key community stakeholders.

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One of his most recent engaging posts was made on Thanksgiving as he recognized the hard work his staff has done to earn a number of achievements, including boosting student enrollment, increasing the district’s graduation rate and reducing the number of dropouts by more than 1,400 students.

The district itself is also very active on social media, garnering nearly 30,000 followers who receive much of the district’s news through Instagram alone.

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Watlington says he’s very intentional with his social media posts as he tries to avoid oversharing and only post what’s relevant to the community.

“I’m a collaborative and result-oriented leader,” he says. “That is my brand in The School District of Philadelphia. We’re laser-focused on one thing, which is our North Star: to become the fastest-improving large urban school district in the country having implemented an aggressive, research-based five-year strategic plan titled, ‘Accelerate Philly.'”

He’s found that people want to hear good news on social media, and he says he’s fascinated with how many people are unaware of the great things happening in the district.

“The posts have to be short, sweet, compelling, catch people’s attention and tell a quick story in 60 seconds,” he adds.

Celebrating the district’s progress with its strategic plan on social media is a primary focus for Watlington and his team. One of the goals is to close the gap between how parents and community members work with the school district as equal partners.

“I connect more with a large number of parent and advocacy groups on social media,” explains Watlington. “I learn more about what their concerns are or what’s brewing in some communities in Philadelphia from our team that helps me monitor the chatter on various social media.”

Watlington has some advice for newer and veteran superintendents who have yet to tap into social media as a leadership tool: “Communication is your superpower.”

Superintendents must recognize that the 21st century demands ongoing communication that’s coherent, interesting or inspiring, he says. The key is learning how to not over-saturate your district’s news to the point where people stop paying attention.

“We’ve got to recognize what the communications research says because people are so busy,” he says. “You’ve got to tell people things 10 times in 10 different avenues in 10 different ways. But we’ve got to do it in a fond, creative way.”

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That may be because the medical community also doesn���t have a full grasp on just how social media affects the health of students, researchers contend in from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

���Research shows social media has the potential to both harm and benefit adolescent health,��� the report says. ���For example, algorithms that generate content recommendations can provide young people with important health information or expose them to unscientific treatments.���

The “direction” of the relationship between social media and adolescent health is also murky because social media may influence health but health may also influence how young people use social media. “There is also much to be learned about how specific platform features���such as ���likes��� or the endless scroll format of some platforms���may affect adolescent health,” the report posits. For these reasons … a more judicious approach is warranted rather than a broad-stroke ban, and does not make recommendations for specific limitations on teens��� access to social media.”

What is clear is that attractive design can keep kids attached to their phones even when they want to disengage. Compounding the risk is that adolescents, compared to adults, have a harder time regulating emotions, are more sensitive to rewards and are meant to seek out independence and explore new identities, the National Academies adds.

Social media health solutions

District leaders should continue to emphasize media literacy and provide teachers with adequate professional development in the subject one superintendent recently told District 91心頭istration油was among the most important schools could teach. The report also encouraged district educators to advocate for states to set media literacy curriculum standards, particularly in digital media to make students more sophisticated and discerning users of social media.

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Educators should counsel students to use social media for social support and to avoid content that depicts illegal or risky behavior, such as self-harm, harm to others, hate speech and eating disorders. Adolescents should also be routinely screened for signs of ���problematic social media use��� that interferes with their ability to engage in schoolwork and other daily routines.

Educators can also encourage parents and caregivers to set guardrails by creating a family media use plan that:

• Addresses what type of and how much media is used and what media behaviors are appropriate for each child and for parents.
• Places limits on the hours per day each media platform is used.
• Promotes children and adolescents getting at least one hour of physical activity each day and at least eight hours of sleep.
• Prohibits children from sleeping with devices, including TVs, computers and smartphones.
• Designates media-free family times (such as dinner) and media-free locations (such as bedrooms).
• Ensures parents view media with children so the latter learn to use platforms creatively and collaboratively.
• Use media to learn and be creative, and share these experiences with your family and your
  community

Parents should also form a network of trusted adults���such as aunts, uncles, grandparents and coaches���who can interact productively with children on social media and help them when they encounter challenges or suspicious behavior.

Outside of schools, the report called upon the International Organization for Standardization, a tech industry watchdog, to set standards for social media platform design, transparency and data use. Social media companies themselves should develop more robust systems for reporting and rooting out online harassment of minors, from cyberbullying to sexual exploitation.

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That morning, Bedell, who is now superintendent of Anne Arundel County Public Schools in Maryland, had been cut off by another driver on his commute and was given the middle finger when he honked his horn. After issuing a reprimand, it took him a moment to realize that he was probably taking his frustration out on the student and may also have succumbed to implicit bias.

It turned out the student was then experiencing homelessness, and to this day, the exchange illuminates the distress that educators are sometimes causing students, albeit inadvertently, Bedell explains.

“The kid put his hand on my shoulder, he was crying and he said, ‘Mr. Bedell, you don���t even know me. I don���t get in trouble, I come to school every day, and you’re riding me over my pants … I’m trying to do my best and you’re getting ready to put me right back out on the streets I’m trying to escape,'” recalls Bedell, who was recently named by the National Alliance of Black School Educators.

“It floored me,” he adds. “It floored me.”

Connecting on a human level was the main reason Bedell took an extensive listening tour when he arrived in Anne Arundel County in July 2022 after spending six years as superintendent of Kansas City Public Schools in Missouri. He learned that parents and families wanted the district to transition to the science of reading and revamp the math curriculum and he heard concerns about staffing shortages.

He offers this advice to other incoming superintendents who would go on their own listening tours. “No. 1, be vulnerable���let people know who you really are,” he asserts. “People see superintendents as these robots and I’ve always felt like when I go out and I may crack a joke, I���ve seen teachers say ���Oh he���s human. Oh, he has a personality.'”

That vulnerability���along with a recounting of his life story���provides credibility to engage in more difficult conversations about systemic problems in public K12 education. “I let people know I’m not perfect, I’ve made mistakes,” he explains. “I let parents know I’m here to make sure your kids are going to be able to prosper and they’re going to learn in a barrier-free environment, and there are some things we have done as adults to harm children that we can no longer allow to happen.”

For Bedell, that harm has been caused by implicit bias, which is why he will lay out the data when he meets with parents and plot out how the district is innovating in a more equitable and transparent direction. “We have assumptions and we have these expectations and we don’t know these kids and we harm them,” says Bedell, who also experienced homelessness as a child.

“I don’t want to be a superintendent who puts any further harm on these kids because of decisions we’ve made that create inequitable opportunities, that create barriers and that ultimately stifle any hope these kids may have that they can get through school and live a better life than what they’ve been handed.”

Keeping it real, people���on social media

Superintendent , who recently took the helm at油Lake Dallas ISD in Texas, began using social media in the previous district she led, Lyford CISD, to remain in touch with families on a human level���particularly during the uncertainties of COVID. “It really eliminated a lot of opportunity for rumors and misinformation to be spread,” Brown notes.

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The connections she made motivated community members to alert her when they spotted false information being posted about her or the district on social media. She bolsters those relationships by regularly surveying her staff and the community, and ensuring all messages are translated into families’ preferred languages.

She encourages other superintendents to be brave and not be afraid to open themselves up in their in-person and online communications with their communities. “You have to be willing to hear the negative,” she explains. “People will take advantage on social media to share their unhappiness with your views or decisions. Take it in stride, and understand the positive outcomes of commutating with stakeholders far outweigh the negative response.”

Brown uses Facebook in particular to share “go team”-type posts about students’ achievements, such as broadcasting a pep rally on Facebook Live. “If it���s just information about the great things are kids doing, which happens on a daily basis, you can just post, you don���t have to share your own thoughts,” she concludes.

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“Me being visible as a superintendent is one of my top priorities, and proactively telling our story,” says Hannigan, who joined Hawthorn in 2019 and, earlier this year, was named by the National School Public Relations Association. “Coming out of COVID, we really wanted to highlight and share all the great things happening in Hawthorn.”

“Dr. Hannigan���s Shenanigans” appears on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly known as Twitter) but is not highly scripted. Hannigan and Samantha Cook, the district’s communications specialist, brainstormed the ideas for the five episodes recorded last school year and the two they’ve done two so far this fall.

In the year’s first episode, he did “Carpool Karaoke” to start off the school year. He drove around district neighborhoods singing with his assistant superintendents. Last Halloween, he dressed up as the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters and goofed around with elementary school students during their celebrations.

At the end of last school year, he interviewed eighth-graders as they prepared to leave Hawthorn, a K8 district. His next episode will feature his youngest students, and is called “A Day in the Life of a Preschooler.”

“It���s humility���you have to be able to laugh at yourself; you can���t take yourself too seriously,” he explains. “From time to time it is uncomfortable when you’re putting yourself out there���you don���t know how it’s going to be received. We’re in season two now, and my community loves it.”

Beyond “Dr. Hannigan���s Shenanigans”

Other ways Hannigan stays visible include his regularly scheduled “formal” building visits during which he meets with principals and assistant principals to discuss an area of focus each month. But he’s also in his schools three or four other days a week, and that’s when he spends time with kids wherever they are���in the cafeteria, at recess or in the classrooms.

Meanwhile, the district is in the fifth and final phase of renovating all of its buildings using funds from a bond measure passed in 2018. This year, the district increased its instructional day from about six and a half to seven hours in elementary and middle school. The longer schedule, which has been in the works since prior to COVID, provides more time for instruction in core subjects and also accommodates five days of PE and twice-weekly music and art in the elementary grades.

A big goal for this year is connecting with community members who don’t have students in the system. Hannigan and the district’s parent liaison are launching “Hawthorn Helpers” to recruit these residents to volunteer in our schools. Hannigan plans to visit senior living facilities, rotary clubs, the chamber of commerce and various local events to promote the district’s good work, he points out.

The urgency around storytelling and communication���and social media, in particular���is one of the main ways the superintendency has changed in recent years. “I’m constantly preaching to our administrative team and our staff that we need to tell our story, we don���t want somebody else to tell our story,” he notes. “Getting that timely, proactive communication out is critical.”

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But those communications can’t油all油be digital. “A lot of time, people want to shoot an email out and things get lost in translation depending on how people read the message,” he adds. “If you have a communication that is more than 5 sentences, you need to pick up the phone still and call people.”

It starts with our staff

His biggest concern is the worsening educator shortage that many districts continue to confront. A former HR director, Hannigan says labor pressures had largely spared his region until about two years ago. “We’re able to staff our buildings but there are fewer and fewer candidates and I’m anticipating it���s only going to get worse, especially in the core content areas,” he explains.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Hannigan believes communication is a solution to the problem. The district’s communications specialist and its assistant superintendent for human resources have been working hard to spread the district’s message and branding, locally, regionally and nationally. That effort includes using social media to promote both Hawothorn and public education and to showcase the achievements of teachers and other staff members.

The district also operates its own leadership academy, to grow its own administrator pipeline from within. “It starts with our staff���the way they talk about the profession to bring back the pride in public education,” he concludes.

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The bill, introduced Wednesday, would require schools that receive federal broadband funding to prohibit students from accessing social media on all “subsidized services, devices, and networks.” The “The Eyes on the Board Act” was introduced just as the Federal Communications Commission was set to vote Thursday to expand E-Rate Wi-Fi funding from classrooms and libraries to school buses.

���Addictive and distracting social media apps are inviting every evil force on the planet into kids��� classrooms, homes, and minds by giving those who want to abuse or harm children direct access to communicate with them online,” Sen. Ted Cruz, one of the bill’s sponsors, said in a statement. ���The very least we can do is restrict access to social media at school so taxpayer subsidies aren���t complicit in harming our children.”

It was unclear whether the Democratic-controlled Senate might approve the bill, which would apply to all social media apps but singles out two by name: TikTok and Instagram.

Internet protections already in place

Currently, The , commonly known as CIPA, requires schools to have Internet filters in place to block students’ access to obscene, pornographic or harmful pictures. Schools must also teach students about appropriate online behavior and enforce Internet safety policies that mandate the monitoring of minors’ online activities.

The Eyes on the Board Act’s sponsors, who include GOP Sens. Ted Budd of North Carolina and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, said the bill would “promote parental limits and transparency” on Internet usage by requiring K12 E-Rate recipients to adopt a screen time policy. The FCC would have to maintain a database of districts’ internet safety policies to further inform parents, they explained.

���Students across the country fell behind in a big way because of COVID-era lockdowns,��� Budd added in the statement. ���Ever since, parents have reasserted their right to be involved in their child���s education.”

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