Lauren Clark kept facing the same paradox when teaching or volunteering with teens.
While they were excited to upgrade their smartphones and use them more frequently, they lamented its addictive nature and the added pressures of social media.
“It’s a really weird kind of push and pull. They’ll say, ‘I need my phone to have a social life, but I know it makes my social interactions less fulfilling.’ Or they’ll say, ‘I need my phone for school, but I know it makes me a worse student,'” Clark said. Because I’m always distracted.” “So, this weird contradiction I’ve heard for years from many, many, many students.”
But now, it’s less of a worry at Carmel School, where Clark’s three older children attend. Our Lady of Mount Carmel was recently honored for having the largest number of parents sign the Wait Until Eighth Grade Pledge, a commitment to delay giving a child a smartphone until at least the end of eighth grade. More than 82,000 parents have signed the pledge nationwide.
OLMC’s 360 pledges cover more than half of the student body. Clark, who worked with other parents to help coordinate the initiative, said this is important because students who don’t have smartphones don’t feel left out or in the minority.
Recent studies have indicated that increased smartphone use is associated with academic decline, and many experts believe that smartphones – especially social media – negatively impact students’ mental and emotional health.
However, Clark said she initially did not expect more than 10% of parents to sign the pledge.
“We started slow, and then things escalated,” she said. “I think there was really a desire for something like this to happen. It was just under the surface. It was lurking. There were a lot of parents who felt this way already, but what they needed to happen was for someone to step up and say, ‘Let’s stand together and make it happen.’ “Change.”
The “Wait Until 8th” initiative at OLMC was parent-led, but school staff did what they could to support it, according to Principal Tim Fletcher. Although the school already banned students from using cell phones during the day, Fletcher said the program has made a difference on campus.
“From an administrative perspective, I have seen a very positive response to this initiative,” he said. “Our parents are well informed and feel less pressure to let their children have a smartphone, especially when the majority of our parents have signed the pledge.”
Clark said she hasn’t heard much student opposition to the pledge, and she acknowledges that delaying a smartphone until eighth grade isn’t the right choice for every family or student.
“Different families will have different needs, different goals, different values for their children, and that’s OK,” Clark said. “We’re not trying to push for uniformity, but we basically want critical mass so people don’t feel left out if they choose to postpone.”
OLMC St. Louis de Montfort followed Fishers (which recently placed fourth in the Wait for Eight rankings) in launching the program. Since then, it has expanded to include other local Catholic schools, including Our Lady of Grace Schools in Noblesville, St. Maria Goretti in Westfield, St. Simon in Lawrence, and St. John the Baptist in Newburgh.
Learn more about the Wait Until 8th initiative at waituntil8th.org.
