The Devious Lick, Eating Tide Pods, Benadryl Challenge, and Blackout Challenge—that’s all it took for our lovely school board to wake up.
The Peel District School Board (PDSB), alongside three other boards, has just launched a $4.5 billion lawsuit against social media apps for deliberately harming the minds of young students. Wow, it only took them 10+ years to realize this! Can we get a round of applause here?
They say, “The defendants have acted in a high-handed, reckless, malicious, and reprehensible manner without due regard for the well-being of the student population and the education system,” and also mention how it is now the educators’ responsibility to clean up the mess. But aren’t these the same people who introduced the BYOD system (bring your device to school)? It’s quite ironic how they shoved these devices in our faces and now expect us to simply put an end to our five-hour screen time or short attention span.
Frankly, what intrigues me the most is their super-duper-awesome, cool plan of suing Meta, TikTok, and Snapchat. What do they think they will achieve with this? Having a WiFi ban on the major three platforms will just force individuals to use alternate access routes such as cellular data or a VPN. Even if they completely wipe the internet of any toxic apps, who’s to say some genius won’t come up with another app, and then another, and another? Are we going to teach the importance of media literacy or continue banning it for the “benefit of students”? “We want them to be independent and educated,” they say. Yet instead of implementing methods to aid them in controlling their screen time, banning it will undoubtedly prevent them from facing this issue in the future, right? Great thinking!
Honestly, there are several ways to deal with this issue, but saying a big fat “no” to social media by banning it rather than finding the root of the problem is not going to solve anything. Maybe, and this might be insane, but why don’t we try to instill the concept of self-discipline? Start by simply not permitting cell phones in classrooms. There is no need to restrict apps that, when taught properly, can be utilized for creativity and self-expression.
But realistically, we have nothing to worry about. Whether the policy is passed or not, I am confident that the $4.5 billion they win will be used to ensure the best possible implementations, a better D2L website, scholarships, mental health care, and teachers who work day and night to ensure we receive the best possible education. Every dime they make from this lawsuit will obviously benefit the students. Why else would they be fighting, right? Publicity stunt, money-grab, you say? Pssshhh… C’mon, that’s not true.
THE NORTH STAR 