A chara, – Because of decisions made by this Government, children in Ireland experienced one of the longest school closures among western European countries during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In Ireland, all schools were closed from mid-March 2020 until late August 2020, and again from Christmas 2020 until a phased reopening commenced in late February and early March 2021, and many post-primary students did not return until mid-April 2021. As a result, primary school students lost approximately half the standard school year, while some post-primary students lost up to two-thirds of the post-primary year. The first round of school closures may have been a justifiable application of the precautionary principle, given the absence of reliable data on the virus at that point; however, by late 2020 clear evidence was available that the overall risk to children and young people from Covid-19 was small.
During the school closures, children and young people missed out on education and the opportunity for social interaction which school provides, with consequences for their physical and mental health. Many children became socially withdrawn and socially isolated, with limited peer interaction throughout the lockdown. This isolation was especially difficult for pre-teens and teens who were at an age when they were in need of being accepted and welcomed by a group. These children were encouraged to engage with the online world during lockdown, and many found a sense of belonging in the groups they joined on social media platforms.
A young person’s moral compass can be strongly influenced by the online communities with which they engage, and unfortunately some of these impressionable young people have been exposed to a toxic culture via the online platforms with which they interacted socially during the school closures and afterwards. There is a lot of negative content and misinformation circulating on these platforms, and continuous exposure to such negative content can adversely affect some youth.
These children may be more likely to engage in anti-social behaviour, condone anti-social behaviour and become desensitised to anti-social behaviour, in the misguided belief that such behaviour is socially acceptable.
This Government’s decision to close schools for an unnecessarily prolonged period of time unfortunately cannot be reversed.
However, to mitigate some of the damage caused to the current cohort of teens by the closure of schools this Government should immediately ban the use of personal smartphones in all school settings to ensure a safe and secure learning environment for all. Last year, Unesco called for a global ban on smartphones in schools, and many countries have already imposed such bans.
It should not be left to the next government to take this much-needed action, as that will be too late for the many teenagers who are struggling to adapt socially in the aftermath of this Government’s decision to close schools for an inordinate length of time. – Is mise,
DEBORAH BYRNE,
Dublin 13.