Look What Happens When You DON'T Take Away Their Cellphones

The dreaded cell phone…it’s something youth development professionals and other educators discuss all the time. I can’t get my participants off their phones! GREAT! Let them use their phones. Check out what these girls were able to do with theirs.

We-adults-use our cell phones as a tool all the time! For one day, count the number of times you use your cell phone as a TOOL. Need to set a meeting up with a colleague? I bet you grab your phone and check your calendar. You might even send an invite to that person right from your phone. Can’t find a copy of that report for your meeting? No problem, I bet you can access it from the folder on your phone and email it to your boss right away. Meeting up with colleagues after work and need to make a quick reservation- wait, I bet you’ve got an app for that on your phone. Not sure how to get there? Pull out your phone and Google or HopStop the directions. Can’t remember how to get to 20% of the dinner bill? App for that too.

We have to stop telling kids to put their cell phones away! We have to SHOW them how they can be tools. Teach them how to use their cell phones to make practice job interviews. Show them how to set alerts for when their assignments are due. Show them how their phone can become a tool for social action. Better yet- show them this video and let their peers show them. Then you get to the business of supporting them and challenging them to use their phones as tools. You’re the perfect person to show them how! And if you’re not 100% sure how to do any of this, challenge yourself and your participants to do it together.