Principal

The mobile phone has been around since the 1980s in a very basic form and this technology has been moving forward rapidly ever since. Today we have a mobile phone that most of the time is not even used for phoning people; social media, texting, gaming, music and photos – there’s an app for everything as they say. 

I receive a notification each Sunday telling me my weekly usage on my mobile. Most of the time I delete this straight away because I don’t want to see how much time I have wasted, but in the past couple of weeks I have been monitoring my usage and have found it quite astounding how much time I have spent on the device. Sure, I read the paper in the morning on the phone and check emails, but it is the other things that have taken up a majority of my usage. People are generally spending an average of 3 hours and 15 minutes on their phones every day. We are also picking up our mobile on average 58 times throughout the day. So why do we spend so much time on our mobiles? Why are we always looking at our phones and watches for constant notifications? Is it FOMO – the fear of missing out on the photo of someone’s breakfast on Instagram? We are all a little guilty of this and of course the boys are too. 

At the College we try to limit the times boys spend on their phones. As you know, we have the rule that the mobile phone must be in the bag or locker and turned off or on flight mode as soon as they walk through the front gates at the College. When the last bell of the day goes they are allowed back their device. I recall a boy once telling me that upon turning on his device at the end of the day, he realised he had received over 50 texts from a student at another school, which had been clearly sent during the school day. Chatting with a colleague on bus duty recently, we noticed a group of about 15 boys all sitting down waiting for the bus. Every single one of them was on his phone. No one was talking to another “IRL”; everyone was lost in their mobile device. Over to the side, a number of other boys were chatting to each other as they played handball, which was great to see, but they were the minority.

Our children might need a phone for safety reasons but do we need to give them so much time on them? Sure, some apps are great for motivation, health and wellbeing but we need to have some downtime from screens and technology. I love to see people appreciating each other’s company and the physical world around them. It is evident in my own children when the phones go away. They have wonderful and often silly conversations and make up nonsense games that we love to witness. It helps us to appreciate the simple things in life – conversation, play, our pets and even the fresh air outside! Devices are also terrible time wasters. How much more enjoyable is a few hours spent outside on the bike or at the beach, rather than lost in a screen. I am going to try over the next couple of months to put the phone down for an allotted period of time and find better ways to spend my downtime. I would love to encourage others in the community to try the same, my own kids included!

Condolence

Please pray for Alexander (Year 12) and Christian Berarducci (2016) and their family as they mourn the loss of their grandmother Maria Berarducci. Eternal rest grant unto her O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon her. May she rest in peace.

Damian Chase

Acting Principal