THE SOCIAL ROLE OF THE SCHOOL IN THE REGULATION OF THE USE OF SMARTPHONES IN CLASSROOMS IN COLOMBIA.

Abstract

In Colombia, digital environments have taken over the dynamics of social interaction in schools, bringing conflicts from the wider community into the classroom and irreparably eroding the attention and emotional well-being of the educational community. Given the alarming failure of current protocols to curb this problem, a bleak outlook looms. The purpose of this analysis was to assess the need to ban the use of mobile devices in classrooms, drawing on successful international experiences that have ensured quality education. Therefore, following a descriptive and analytical literature review that took into account national and international recommendations—such as the Unified School Coexistence Information System (SIUCE), the Ministry of National Education (MEN), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), using search criteria related to cell phone use and current regulations in classrooms, found that state regulations in Colombia are lax given the magnitude of the negative impact on learning caused by the unregulated use of mobile devices in the classroom. Therefore, the findings suggest that a direct ban on cell phones is an indispensable protective measure. In conclusion, the urgent need for a prohibitive approach by the Colombian government is discussed: a forceful restriction of the direct influence of technology and the parallel reinforcement of emotional education strategies to mitigate the systemic deterioration of the school environment.