r/mildlyinfuriating • u/TheAeroplaneBear2906 • Jul 16 '26

Unskippable ad Clear Backpacks + Pay to Keep Your Phone

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My freinds school is now requiring these items, and is also using AI to promote this šŸ« 

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u/ButtonholePhotophile Jul 16 '26

It teaches kids to set alarms and be especially helpless because their phone is locked up. šŸ¤£

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u/ItsStraTerra Jul 16 '26

Gotta be honest, Iā€™d be playing random cricket sounds at random intervals full volume all day. Piss off everyone who thought this was a reasonable idea.

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u/Bladesnake_______ Jul 16 '26

Ah yes trying to get their kids to put phones down and pay attention in class is sooooooo unreasonable.

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u/ItsStraTerra Jul 16 '26

Thatā€™s not the point. Maybe itā€™s my ā€œold ageā€ showing, but when I was in school (graduated 2018) phones were a tool, that were often used in class to get information without the teacher needing to answer even small questions for every single student.

The kids that used their phones too much in non constructive ways were either ignored if they werenā€™t disruptive, or if they were they were sent to some equivalent of ā€œdetentionā€ or to the principals office. After all, itā€™s their education that theyā€™re choosing to not participate in. But if they did well in class, and werenā€™t disruptive, then why police a nonexistent issue? The teacher simply moved on and continued teaching.

Iā€™m aware that ā€œkids these daysā€ are a bit different, but I just donā€™t see how removing access to someoneā€™s physical property that should be used as a tool for learning or a way to cope with stresses of a teenager through music or whatever else between classes or downtime makes them any less agitated or frustrated and therefore unwilling to learn.

Itā€™s asinine that thereā€™s a company making boatloads of money just because theyā€™ve successfully managed to increase the amount of attention that phones get from teachers and concerned parents. Iā€™d be shocked if the kids these days use their phones more than when I graduated less than a decade ago.

We used them for note taking, calendar scheduling, research, reminders, etc. and I donā€™t really see how thatā€™s an issue now.

I suppose the only saving grace here is that most kids have Chromebookā€™s or iPads. (Neither of which prepare a kid for using a proper computer, but thatā€™s another conversation.) So Iā€™m unaware of their full capabilities or if the kids are allowed to take them home, but that could be a somewhat reasonable alternative.

My only major concerns with literally locking the devices away is a lack of access to communication during an emergency. Otherwise itā€™s more of an opinion thing and probably not accurate for every person in every situation.

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u/Bladesnake_______ Jul 16 '26

Thereā€™s literally no emergency in which somebody canā€™t just call the school and have the kid informed. Kids arenā€™t cops or firefighters they donā€™t need to leave to solve some problem. Thatā€™s not a real scenario

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u/ItsStraTerra Jul 16 '26

What if the kid needs to contact the parents. Or record evidence. Abusive (both sexually, physically, and emotionally) teachers exist. Not to mention even just their classmates. What about the bus ride to or from school in the places that just restrict phones entirely?

Youā€™re telling me that in the (admittedly unlikely) event that the teacher or more importantly the bus driver becomes unresponsive, that these kids should just have no way to contact anyone or provide video evidence of important situations if needed?

A lot of kids barely get listened to even when they have physical proof because ā€œdumb kidsā€ or it becoming a ā€œhe said she saidā€ type situation between two individuals, even one who absolutely is supposed to have authority? How are you suggesting we do that without 24/7 video surveillance every moment the kids are within the ā€œjurisdictionā€ of the school.

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u/Stunning_Geese Jul 16 '26

That's a discipline issue. I've had students do that. First time it's a warning, second it's detention and the phone is no longer allowed into the classroom.

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u/UnknownQwerky Jul 16 '26

What happens when their phone is a medical alert device? Like for diabetes or medication reminders.

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u/Stunning_Geese Jul 16 '26

Students with a phone that is needed for medical reasons are allowed to keep them - we aren't monsters.

I know who those students are since they have a note from their doctor stating they need their device. I usually find time to talk to the student one-on-one and them them know I know they have a phone they need for their health. That being said, they can't just have it out and be playing with it.

If they need to check it, fine. Check the phone and put it away. Be discreet about it. Every student with a medical device is OK with that.

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u/UnknownQwerky Jul 16 '26

Okay, that makes sense. I saw the lockdown magnetized pouches and thought this is ridiculous and too much. That sounds much more reasonable.

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u/kb3_fk8 Jul 16 '26

Every CGM comes with the monitor and sensor. The app is always an extra that isnā€™t needed. Kids can start taking their CGM instead of relying on their app.

Iā€™m a pediatric diabetic educator and most of the time we see kids use the monitor and the parents use the app to track their sugars. Relying solely on a phone is kinda stupid and isnā€™t what is taught nationally.

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u/UnknownQwerky Jul 16 '26

Shouldn't they learn how to use their own medical devices to full potential? If the app was kinda stupid why was it created as an option?

Children make more sense to double monitor. But middle school and highschoolers though?

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u/kb3_fk8 Jul 16 '26

It was created for Data Analytics and engagement tracking. We see about 13 patients a month who are admitted for poor medication compliance because the iOS or Play stores do updates that brick the app every month or two. Itā€™s not that they donā€™t use both devices but diabetic management is more of a marathon.

Also thinking middle and high schoolers are the ones more responsible is factually wrong as the majority of our admissions and remedial education are teenagers.

Does your teenager brush their teeth twice a day, every day, with zero misses including sleep overs?

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u/YourMurse4Real Jul 16 '26

You only see 13 patients a month or 13 of the patients you see are admitted? Have you personally tried to manage an insulin pump day in, day out or only taught others what is in a book? It seems to me you left out a really important part- insulin pumps are designed to work with phones. Try using a pump without the phone. Many kids have both a CGM and a pump which work in sync with each other but using a phone is often the best way to manage them. Don't forget that the phone also transmits the CGM data to the parents/ guardians who can see and intervene more rapidly than the child or the teacher (who is often ignorant of diabetes) might). I have used insulin pumps since before CGMs existed and my daughter has for 10 years. I assure you that the value of the phone can not be overemphasized.

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u/kb3_fk8 Jul 16 '26

Please calm down and take a moment to read everything I said again please. Everything you brought up is just out of left field and the few questions you asked that do relate to my posts seem rhetorical because I already answered them in the post and youā€™re seeking different avenues to argue.

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u/UnknownQwerky Jul 16 '26

I don't got teenagers, I just was one once upon a time. Does every adult brush twice a day no misses even after a night of drinking? šŸ˜†

When I worked as CNA at a nursing home they couldn't keep diabetes managed properly with a nurse in charge of it and having a nutritionist decide their food. So I'll give them a little break there, diabetes is tough to manage. šŸ˜”

But that is interesting, I didn't know the apps weren't as accurate. It makes sense if video games that are working for microtransactions can't get their updates right, why would a medical device. šŸ˜…

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u/Sideswipe0009 Jul 16 '26

Then they learn to remember it on their own like everyone else had to until these phones came along.

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u/schizoesoteric Jul 16 '26

and then they pass out and die like people did before the phones came along?

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u/Bladesnake_______ Jul 16 '26

people still die now tho. Nobody NEEDS a phone to live

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u/UnknownQwerky Jul 16 '26

They don't need it but their medical devices can run off them for convenience. Like insulin pumps and pacemakers.

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u/UnknownQwerky Jul 16 '26

Back then though our phone couldn't be bluetoothed to our insulin pumps and our heart monitors.

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u/Sideswipe0009 Jul 16 '26

Should there be a child with these conditions (not many), then certainly there could be exceptions or other arrangements made.

But I guess, more to the point, we should let all children have cell phones in class because 1 for every 10,000 has some special use case? Is that really your argument?

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u/UnknownQwerky Jul 16 '26

I don't think they should have to pay a 25 dollar fee to have their phone at school and it shouldn't be inaccessible in case it is needed as a phone.

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u/Sideswipe0009 Jul 16 '26

I don't disagree. They should be able to leave them in their lockers.

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u/UnknownQwerky Jul 16 '26

Sorry it came out as I was arguing for free phone use for everybody. I understand we can't just have everyone playing games on their phones. šŸ«  In college I remember seeing adults pull out a laptop and play Bejeweled in lecture like I guess it's your money, but that's rude.