Do we really need to ban phones in schools? My thoughts on Netflix's Adolescence

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I watched Adolescence, a few weeks post-partum (not recommended). Whilst watching, I was thinking about all the children that have passed through my classroom, my time as a teacher and now a parent. Below, I write about the lessons and messages I think we need to take from the series. Note: I am sleep deprived, baby on boob, with half a cup of luke warm coffee that I am unable to reach for. This piece has also been written in multiple sittings, some of during a 3am feed. Therefore, forgive the lack of data, stats and evidence in this blog. Instead, I’m going to focus on my personal and anecdotal observations following the Adolescence media craze and my thoughts on banning phones for teens as a teacher and as a parent.

In a nutshell, Adolescence feels like ‘An Inspector Calls’ of our time: raw and unfiltered insights into the impact of historic and accepted social norms, wrapped in patriarchy, economic and educational injustice, all of which manifests in the modern day online world of social media.

Why Patriarchy?

Patriarchy in this context does not necessarily mean ‘men are more powerful’ (although this ‘feels’ and is true in so many ways too). it refers to a system, which overall benefits the masculine and masculine traits. Patriarchy is also a system withfixed roles for men, women, other.

Post-2020, it seems the terms patriarchy and ‘toxic masculinity’ are a little confused. It’s important to emphasise that masculinity is not inherently toxic, nor is the latter phrase particularly helpful. As so many students have said to me, it’s definitely not a great conversation starter with young men! What is often left out when we talk about toxic masculinity is the impact the patriarchy has on all of us, particularly when we think about gendered expectations (boys are expected to be the providers, the winners, the ones who ‘get the girl’. Girls are expected to be submissive, the ones who compromise and who are compliant). For me, Adolescence highlighted that we like to think we have ‘made progress’ for women and 'equality' and that we’re opening up conversations about male vulnerabilities and mental/emotional health. The reality is, it's not enough and we’re not getting it right.

In Adolescence, we see the ‘dad’ becoming a somewhat absent parent (not a lesser parent) whilst he is fulfilling his ‘patriarchal’ responsibilities to his family. We see the personal impact of his son’s actions on him at the very end of the series, where he is grieving his son, but alone, in his son’s room (not in front of the women of his family; he tries to remain strong in front of his wife and daughter). It is not only teenagers that mask their feelings, adults do too and we see this tragically affect the father and the mother in the series.

Toxic online influencers

Personally, I don’t think the series should be viewed as an Andrew Tate 2.0; rather, we need to listen and understand the impact of loneliness, bullying, online bullying and teenage insecurities. We need to recognise the importance of relationships and developing relationships, whether those be friendships, familial or romantic relationships for young people. The latter is not to condone or in any way justify Jamie’s actions or behaviour. Rather, it is to instil accountability, an understanding of consequences and create a safe environment for young people everywhere.

In fact, watching Adolescence and thinking about the communication lines (or lack thereof) for teenagers, I’d say we have some serious work to do to listen to teenagers, particularly when it comes to dismantling systemic structures and understanding the online world.

The socioeconomic and online injustices in Adolescence

Since it has aired, there has been an overwhelming drive to ‘do away’ with phones for young people. This is nothing new and many schools have effective phone, technology and screentime policies in place. Many schools are working towards it . I get it, banning phones appears to be the best ‘solution’ to work towards combatting negative online influences that put every child and adult in a dangerous and vulnerable position, particularly in a school setting. Over time a ban can (hopefully) reduce bullying and boost mental and emotional health. However, I wonder if it is as ‘simple’ as that, particularly when those of us advocating for this change find ourselves (at least in the present day) in positions of a different kind of power, privilege and positive influence?

Stick with me: my childhood was far from privileged and in many ways I now pinch myself with gratitude for the position I am in. I live in a wonderful part of the country, surrounded by some green, convenient amenities, not too far from a few boujee coffee shops and safe spaces. I’m surrounded by family and friends to see at the weekends for coffee dates, play dates and lunches. I can afford to treat myself and my children to a regular babycino, flat white and slice of cake. I’ve reached a stage in my career and familial life where I am ambitious and driven to ‘want more’ for us, but privileged to be content and have weekends and evenings free (I come from a family that had to work overtime and, at times, two jobs to make ends meet). At weekends, during the school holidays and evenings, I can replace screen time with ‘family time’, walks, coffee and cake, brunch, and an annual holiday too. Keeping my children away from phones and social media then is something I am economically and environmentally able to do; this is not necessarily the case for every family and teenage dwelling.

When we think of reducing screen time and replacing social media/the online space, with quality time, education and an 80s/90s version of socialising, I wonder if we also consider how feasible and possible this is for several (if not thousands) of families? I wonder if we think about the parents who would love to spend more time with their kids, but their socioeconomic circumstances don’t enable it? Do we consider children for whom social media/tech is a necessity to sometimes escape their reality (which may be just as bad as the online world we critique)? Do we think of the parents, who absolutely should be protecting their children, but are unsupported, unprotected and vulnerable too? Have we thought to question and start with the online tech giants who are responsible for the toxic algorithms that are affecting young people today?

Whilst I fully appreciate that social media and the online world are the cause of a lot of harm, whether it be gaming, TikTok, group chats and more, I’m not sure they’re the root cause. This is likely an unpopular opinion, but I’m sure many are thinking it: banning social media and screen time is unrealistic. Children are growing up in a tech driven world; they see us use it, not just for work but to socialise too. The irony is that those profiting from AI/tech/socials are the ones telling us to ‘keep it away’ from our children…it just makes no sense.

Adolescence has 'mainstreamed' a very important conversation, but I don’t think it’s just about social media. It’s about listening, and understanding and giving time to young people, from the moment they’re born, until they’re ready ‘to fly the nest’. The phrase ‘it takes a village’ to raise young people comes to mind and when we think about ‘the care gap’, ‘the motherhood penalty’, a cost of living crisis and more, we as a society have a hell of a lot of thinking and work to do before we begin to suggest solutions.

So, what do we do?

For schools, below are a few suggestions that may help when tackling some of the issues raised in Adolescence:

• Reverse mentoring: get your young people to mentor you. Empower them so that you can listen and learn from them. There is a whole section in my book about it.

• Take PSHE seriously: it is the only curriculum area that is dedicated to student personal development. Teach students about the things they want to learn about, from AI to opening a bank account - we need to teach it all.

  
  

• CPD and INSET:Focus your CPD, your INSET days on supporting teachers on how to talk about these issues. You don’t just need a keynote, you need workshops, practice, role play (we might hate it, but it’s a very effective form of training).

  
  

• Revisit all curriculum areas: find points across the curriculum, no matter the subject, to discuss issues that affect young people today. The Lit in Colour Incomplete Playlist, whilst predominantly for English and Drama classrooms, can inspire every subject to review and revisit their curriculums.

  
  

• Spend time with parents and the community: it can feel time consuming and often parents and teachers don't have the time. However, it can help to factor in activity days, information days, webinars and more to help parents navigate these issues and to create spaces where parents can spend quality time with their children too. Whilst some reading this may think this is 'not the job' for schools, it's where we are today and a necessary intervention to challenge the algorithms and get kids (and parents) off their phones.

There is long term and short term support we can put in place for children, their parents and teachers too. Banning phones may be one of them (and it does work in many cases). However, we need to be mindful of thinking this solution ‘fixes’ a problem. If anything, Adolescence has shown us that things don’t just happen overnight and creating a safe society for all of us (children and adults) is a long term commitment. This isn’t just a ‘problem’ for parents and teachers to address, it’s a societal concern that has an impact on all of us, at every stage of life.