Teach-Secondary-Issue-14.5

A silent addiction Why we owe it to our students to confront the purposefully addictive nature of social media and its frequently malign impacts W ould you approve of illicit drugs being used by students in your school? How about the smoking of cigarettes or vapes? Alcohol use? I’d hope that your answer to each of those would be an emphatic ‘no’. As staff, we understand that these things, even if legal, are damaging and highly addictive. We know that our students – no matter how bright – aren’t fully capable of making rational decisions about substances that could decimate their young lives. Slithering distractions Teenagers live with an optimism that assumes tragedies only befall other people, and that’s part of their charm. We want them to believe in the possibilities and potential of a bright future, but it also means they underestimate risk. So we protect them. We set rules. We ban vapes and alcohol on school grounds for reasons of safeguarding. We know that addiction can consume even the most diligent among us, if given the chance. So why do we lack that same clarity when it comes to social media and phone use? Because what, exactly, is social media doing in our schools? Is it a learning tool? A driver of creativity? Or a silent, slithering distraction – always nearby, whispering comparisons, likes and notifications into our students’ ears? The ache ofwithdrawal Social media isn’t harmless. It’s an algorithm-driven, dopamine-spiking machine that’s engineered to be ABOUT THE AUTHOR ‘I, Teacher’ is a secondary teacher, teacher trainer and writer challenging binary teaching narratives. For more information, visit theteacherfilesexposed.wordpress. com or follow @i-teacher.bsky.social addictive. And it’s working as intended. I’ve been told that this is an overreaction. “ Kids today aren’t addicted, ” others tell me. “ It’s just modern life. ” “ Adapt or be left behind. ” But they’re not seeing what I’m seeing. I was raised by an alcoholic. I knowwhat addiction looks like. I used to smoke, and can remember the physical ache of withdrawal. If you can recall how it feels to witness, or experience the comedown from any type of addiction, you can spot it in others a mile off. I once took a group of students to a Scout camp, where they had to surrender their phones upon arrival, and what I witnessed was startling. Day 1 – anxiety. Day 2 – anger, even rage. Some experienced full-blown physical symptoms in the form of shakes, panic and tears. This was withdrawal, plain and simple. But then came Day 4, and I suddenly saw children again. Real children. Not teens curating their lives for an audience, or measuring their worth in likes – just young people laughing, playing and connecting. They climbed trees, told jokes, sat around a fire. They were present. For many, it was the first time they’d felt like that in years. Walking on eggshells Yet somehow, the idea of banning social media in schools remains controversial. ‘ They need to learn how to navigate it! ’ we’re told. True – but we don’t teach the dangers of drink-driving by handing out a set of car keys and a bottle of vodka, do we? ‘ They need to be prepared for modern life! ’ I agree wholeheartedly, but preparation doesn’t mean surrender. Disinformation is has become part of modern life too, and we don’t let that go unchecked. ‘ They’ll just use it anyway. ’ Maybe – but again, we don’t allow smoking in corridors just because a few students might otherwise light up in the toilets. I’m not suggesting we pretend that the digital world doesn’t exist – we do need to educate students about social media – but education doesn’t require unrestricted access. It requires boundaries and honesty. We see the impact of phones and social media every day. The shrinking attention spans, spiralling mental health challenges, the rising anxiety. Students checking phones under desks, zoning out of lessons, glued to the validation loop of likes and comments. So why are we letting these platforms into our classrooms?Why do we act as if that’s inevitable and we’re powerless to stop it? Because we’re not powerless. Schools should be sanctuaries. Places of safety, focus and growth. Unfettered access to social media isn’t compatible with that mission. At best, it’s a distraction. At worst, it’s deeply damaging. So let’s stop pretending otherwise. Let’s stop walking on eggshells around this issue and have the courage to do what we know is right. Let’s protect our students from the addiction we’re too afraid to name. 43 teachwire.net/secondary O P I N I O N