Schools and parents in Bengaluru look at reducing screen time for children as physical classes resume 

Many parents in Bengaluru complained that their children were misusing phones citing educational reasons

During the two years of the pandemic, smartphones and laptops were the only means of learning for children as classes went virtual. This led to increased screen time for children.

Cut to the present day, this academic year, schools are taking extra measures and notifying parents to limit the screen time for students by trying to reduce the reliance on gadgets as much as possible.  

Many school managements started taking these steps after parents complained that their children were misusing phones citing educational reasons.

Like Sujatha S.K, mother of a ninth grader in Banashankari, says, “My son is very interested in watching sports and during the lockdown he developed the habit of watching web series also. When he plugged in the earphones and watched videos on the phone, I used to assume that it was a class recording or academic video. One day, I just sat down to watch it with him when I realised he was watching a web series”.  

There were other parents who had similar experiences which prompted them to take the matter to the school authorities. “During the lockdown, we had no option but to expose them to screens for learning. If they are going back to school now, then what is the need for sending homeworks and study materials on WhatsApp or other apps? This is why I appealed to my son’s school to stop such communication,” said Anand B.S. father of a third grader. 

D. Shashi Kumar, general secretary, Associated Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools, said that as students started coming back to schools, most teachers stopped using virtual means for any aspect of learning.

“All the activities happen in classrooms only. Moreover, some schools have made use of some mobile applications where students can log in to for educational purposes and study. But with this app, both schools and parents can track the exact timings of usage of the app,” he said.