‘DepEd has drafted policies to regulate the safe use of technology in teaching and learning, promoting cyber safety, digital literacy and responsible use aimed at balancing technology’s benefits in education while preventing digital harm.’

THE Department of Education (DepEd) seems on an uphill trek as it battles a menace that should have been something that other government agencies should care about – a mental health concern brought about by the government’s inability to control the sale of modern-day gadgets and unregulated access to social media.

Taking the cue from the answers I got from DepEd through the kind assistance of its Media Relations chief, Dennis Legaspi, Secretary Sonny Angara admitted there’s an urgent need for the government to address what I have earlier referred to as an addiction among young Filipinos aged five to 20 years old.

For one, the good Secretary seemed aware of the problems for which he hinted at revisiting three DepEd Orders – and perhaps reconsidering the total ban of mobile phones in classrooms during class hours.

Make no mistake about it though as Secretary Angara recognizes the new direction in learning delivery integrating ICT in the teaching-learning process, which includes the adoption of online learning, particularly during class suspensions, the need for mobile phones becomes a necessity. In the classroom, these mobile phones are beneficial as they serve as potent sources of information augmenting the teaching-learning process.

From what Secretary Angara told me, the son of the late Senate President Edgardo J. Angara doesn’t seem keen on banning gadgets inside school premises. He, however, looks more like imposing provisions on school restrictions to ensure that the use of mobile phones is not abused, but rather falls within the goal of improving learning.

Secretary Angara, a father of three wonderful children, must have been feeling the chill on the imminent repercussions of uncontrolled excessive use of gadgets and unregulated access to social media among kids.

As a parent myself, some children are smarty-pants and would attempt to go around such a ban on the use of smartphones and social media while in school – for which Secretary Angara, who finished his masters in law at Harvard Law School, offered a solution.

According to Secretary Angara, schools may adopt multi-tiered strategies to proactively address the concern of learners neglecting restrictions on the use of smartphones and social media.

One of those strategies embarks on a curriculum on responsible technology use if only to make the students aware of the long-term (adverse) effects of misusing mobile gadgets.

Second, clear consequences for violations should be enforced, combined with active parent-teacher collaboration to monitor behavior.

Monitoring systems should also be employed like restricted Wi-Fi access and classroom management apps may help deter misuse during school hours, reinforcing a supportive learning environment.

Smartphone addiction among children, tweens, and teens is not classified as an epidemic, though it represents a widespread issue in the digital era. It reflects a significant behavioral shift in the 21st century.

The rise in smartphone use is a cultural shift, not an epidemic as of this time, yet it poses risks such as reduced attention, anxiety, and social isolation. It is essential in modern education, to provide access to digital resources, but with proper guidance. It is part of the ‘digital trend’ where the integration of technology is normal and increasingly pervasive.

Given the rapidly changing times, Secretary Angara, an alumnus of Xavier School in Greenhills, said the DepEd has drafted policies to regulate the safe use of technology in teaching and learning, promoting cyber safety, digital literacy, and responsible use. The policy is crucial for balancing technology’s benefits in education while preventing digital harm.

These regulations ensure learners can maximize technology’s educational value while mitigating risks like addiction.

As for the tangent solutions, Secretary Angara bared several initiatives to mitigate digital harm among learners aged 5 to 20. Key actions include the promotion of cyber wellness and digital citizenship through the curriculum, embedding Media and Information Literacy (MIL) subjects in senior high school, and partnerships with organizations for cyber safety campaigns.

These efforts aim to educate learners on the responsible use of technology, protect them from digital addiction, cyberbullying, and harmful online content, and guide them toward ethical digital behavior.

For the first time since I started advocating online safety for children on September 9, I salute Secretary Sonny Angara for having many ideas. I am not saying this because his elder cousin, Rizza Angara Moises, and Dennis Legaspi are dear friends of mine, but rather because the DepEd chief was the first government official I had spoken to who offered sound solutions on how to combat social media addiction among our country’s future nation builders.

Secretary Angara should follow in the footsteps of his dad, whose name is a byword in the academic community, and walk his talk.