Just to clarify are you saying that students should have access to their phones in classroom settings and should then feel engaged enough by the curriculum so as not to be on their phone or rather that while on campus they should maintain access, but be asked to keep them put away in class? At my school we had phones on us that we had to keep put away or it would be taken until after class. This seemed like a pretty basic and fair solution. If even a few kids are playing on their phone it is a pretty big distraction for everyone else.

Most of the focus on the article is in fact, on the external factors towards student behavior from social media use in general. I am not really sure what the answer is. My best friend is an ER nurse in a decent sized city and laments the amount of 12-14 year old girls that come in for both attempted and sadly often successful suicide attempts due to social media driven mental health crises.

As father to a young daughter I am constantly trying to better understand how to approach this topic as she ages.

I agree with your sentiment but how do you even go about this? From where I stand it feels like tech and social was sold out to the ad firms and tech overlords years ago. There is a measurable net negative impact to mental health among kids and adults from it. I’m all for allowing your kid to access the groups that make them feel valued and included, but at this junction phones and social in school is more harmful than helpful.