“It appears Apple is working on a new Schooltime feature for the Apple Watch,” macrumors.com reports, “designed to help students focus during school hours by blocking access to apps, complications, and notifications on the device. Emergency calls and alerts will not be blocked for safety reasons.” Questions questions. Like . . .
How do you get your child to surrender their watch so you can block their access during school? How do you prevent them from hacking the block, presumably by somehow watching you enter the presumed code that locks the Apple Watch? Does the lock apply to their iPhone? What if they need to text you to change their ride home?
There is but one solution to all this: nothing. Children are one with their smart phones and smartwatches. They exist on social media as much as they exist in the real world. Maybe more. To the point where taking them away can cause them anxiety. Then again . . .
France has banned personal smart devices from public schools. Should America do the same? The stats say yes. (Especially as students are using them to cheat.) Your kids say no ‘effing way. Or, to use a more common expression, it’s on! Always on.