Stonington asks families to ‘Wait Until 8th’ to give students smartphones

STONINGTON, Conn. (WTNH) — A new campaign in Stonington aims to reduce cyberbullying and keep kids less distracted at school.

The Wait Until 8th campaign encourages families to wait until the end of 8th grade before they give their child a smartphone—not a cell phone, but a smartphone. Some say it’s a smart move that could limit middle school students’ access to social media and its perils.

Danny Oliverio, a 7th grader in Stonington, said he tries to limit his time on technology by playing many sports.

“I enjoy it most of the time, but sometimes it can be stressful,” Oliverio said.

On Route 1, this community message shared by Stonington and football rival Westerly Rhode Island hopes to get more families to hold off on smartphones so those who want to wait aren’t alone.

“The long-term hope is that we’re really not introducing kids to smartphones until they get to high school,” principal Jeff Parkinson said.

The campaign, which encourages people to take the pledge, says social media can be addictive and cause academic distraction, as well as anxiety and depression. It may also expose students to things like cyberbullying and sexual content.

“It’s based on research on brain development, and the frontal lobe of middle school children isn’t ready to control their impulses around the use of social media,” Stonington Public Schools Superintendent Mary Anne Butler said.

These shoreline communities are trying to remove some potential stressors.

“Just like friends being mean to you or something like that cyberbullying,” Oliverio said.

“At the end of the day, when we were kids, right, we went home, and we had our safe space generally that was our home,” Parkinson said. “No one could get to us there. That’s not true anymore for kids, right? With social media, people can get to you and talk to you and communicate with you at all times.”

This year, the school district also introduced pouches to students who have to lock up their phones while in school. At the end of the day, they get their devices back, which is why they feel this Wait Until 8th campaign is a good compliment to the pouch program.

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