Stanwood-Camano interim superintendent announces move toward phone-free instructional time after presentation on youth screen harms

Ryan O'Malley, interim superintendent of the Stanwood-Camano School District, told families at a community book talk that the district will move toward cell-phone–free instructional time next school year after a visiting author presented evidence linking heavy device use to rising mental-health problems among young people.

Katherine Johnson Martinko, author of Childhood Unplugged, told the audience she believes smartphones and social media have reshaped childhood into what Jonathan Haidt calls the "great rewiring," and urged parents and schools to adopt stricter limits. "I do not think kids should have smartphones before the age of 16," Martinko said, adding later that she recommends no social media before 18.

Why it matters: Martinko cited surveys and public-health data showing steep increases in screen time and in teen reports of sadness and hopelessness; at the same event O'Malley framed the district's book study of Haidt's The Anxious Generation as groundwork for policy changes that aim to improve focus, teacher morale and student well-being. The district will engage students, families and staff as it develops specifics for an instructional-time policy.

Martinko divided harms into two categories: primary harms such as disrupted sleep, cyberbullying and impaired attention, and secondary harms — the lost opportunities for unstructured play and practical skill-building. She cited a 2023 survey she said found average entertainment screen time for tweens (ages 8–12) at about 5½ hours and for teenagers at about 8 hours 40 minutes a day, with a large share spent on social platforms. She also referenced national health trends and advisories, saying the U.S. Surgeon General has warned that evidence is insufficient to determine social media safety for children.

Martinko recommended four norms drawn from Haidt's work — no smartphones before 14, no social media before 16, phone-free schools and more childhood independence — and offered stricter rules she uses at home (no smartphone before 16; no social media before 18). She outlined age-specific alternatives (talk-and-text or a shared family phone for younger children, supervised common-area device use for school-issued laptops) and practical household tactics such as timed lockboxes, family "digital Sabbaths" and encouraging high-quality leisure.

During a question-and-answer period, parents and other attendees asked about teaching students the research, using parental-control apps, and balancing student safety with reduced monitoring. O'Malley said the district has convened a student leadership group and an AI work group and that guidance from the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) will inform classroom uses of artificial intelligence; he described the district approach as "human input, AI help, human output." Martinko cautioned against constant location tracking of teens, saying research suggests it can encourage riskier behavior because teens assume they will always be found.

Next steps: O'Malley said the district will continue community engagement as administrators draft the phone policy and related outreach; families were invited to contact the district for more information. The presentation closed with an offer of resources and follow-up from district staff and community volunteers.