Assemblyman Rob Wittman and panelists discuss student online safety and related issues during a forum at the Tuckahoe Area Library on August 16. (Courtesy of Rob Wittman’s office)
When you walk into a high school cafeteria, you might expect the typical chaotic atmosphere of students talking, laughing and moving between tables. But today, you’re more likely to encounter the silence of students sitting together in groups but all focused on their own phones, said Liz Parker, director of student services and well-being at Henrico School.
“It’s quiet. It’s very jarring when you’re not expecting it, because while the kids are all sitting together, everyone is on their phones,” Parker said. “So it’s a very, very different experience than before.”
Cell phones and social media have completely changed the landscape of K-12 schools, Parker said. At a social media safety seminar hosted by U.S. Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-01) at the Tuckahoe Area Library on Aug. 16, Parker and other panelists discussed topics such as online safety, cell phones in schools, cyberbullying and student mental health.
Cyberbullying on social media has become a major concern for Henrico students and parents. In a HCPS department-wide survey conducted in February, nearly 50% of students in grades 3-12 said there was a cyberbullying problem at their school, while 30% of parents agreed. About two-thirds of students and 50% of parents also reported a social bullying problem at their school.
“Over 50% of our kids have experienced some form of cyberbullying, and for many it’s 24/7,” Wittman said. “It used to be that you might experience bullying at school for a short period of time. Today, unfortunately, we’re surrounded by social media everywhere and it’s a 24/7 threat.”
Cell phones and social media can also lead to more physical bullying and fights among students during the school day. Students can quickly mobilize other students and even post their fights on social media, Parker said. This presents “quite serious and significant challenges” for school administrators and families.
“Things that might be just small disagreements or just small conflicts can escalate very, very quickly through the use of social media during the school day,” she said. “You end up with more students watching the fights, participating in them, and filming them at the same time and posting them so that families see the fight and come to school and then students at other schools see the fight as well – all within 30 minutes.”
Recently, Henrico Schools has taken steps to limit cell phone use in schools, but has not completely banned students from using cell phones during lunch or between classes. On August 9, the department released updated cell phone policies that require students to keep their cell phones in their backpack or a storage container provided by the department during all class time.
However, the Virginia Department of Education is recommending that school districts take a stricter approach, releasing a draft cell phone policy on August 15. It calls on schools to ban cell phones “from start to finish,” meaning students are not allowed to have access to their phones during the entire school day.
For now, HCPS has decided to continue to allow students to use cell phones between classes. There may even be times when the teacher might allow cell phone use in the classroom for learning, Parker said, and HCPS continues to support the appropriate use of technology in the classroom when it comes to instruction.
“The use of technology – not necessarily social media – but there is still technology in the classroom that is appropriate in small doses in the learning context,” she said. “I really think we need to prepare kids for that because technology is going to be used in the workplace.”
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Social media and online literacy are a major focus at HCPS, Parker said. Virginia requires public schools to incorporate digital learning into the curriculum and sets learning standards for K-12 grades. HCPS school counselors host parent workshops each year on technology and social media use, and HCPS also hosts department-wide workshops at the Bridge Builders Academy.
“Ultimately, I think this is all about social media literacy. And in school, we have a profound responsibility to teach kids social media literacy,” Parker said. “It’s about understanding what cyberbullying is … and teaching kids to be in online spaces that make them feel better, that energize them, that don’t drain them.”
In recent years, children and teens have also been exposed to serious online threats such as sextortion and online extortion. Kathryn Rifenbark, director of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s CyberTipline, said she has observed a more than 300% increase in reports of online lure and sextortion from 2021 to 2023.
Rifenbark has also observed a rise in financial extortion, which is primarily targeted at teenagers, a group that is likely to underreport or be hesitant to seek help. For many children, a stranger contacting them through social media may not seem as unusual or suspicious as it would for adults, Rifenbark said, since much of children’s social life now takes place in the online world and through online connections.
“If someone randomly contacts us online, we may think we’re not going to talk to that person,” she said. “But these days, many kids are making their contacts online, and these predators are really good at creating fake profiles that look like they’re someone the child might know in real life.”
On school-provided devices, HCPS uses Securely, an educational software platform, to flag and identify various words or phrases that may be concerning or inappropriate, Parker said. Parents can also download similar software or restrictions on their home devices or their children’s devices.
However, Parker advises parents not to rely solely on security software, as many students have been able to bypass it.
“They’re always one step ahead of us, so I always warn parents not to get a false sense of security,” she said. “Some people use this or that and think, ‘Okay, I don’t have to be so careful because I’ve installed this now.'”
The key is for parents to establish open channels of communication and expectations about their children’s technology use, Parker says, to help their students navigate a more digital world positively and safely.
“We always talk about the paradox of social media: Two things can be true at the same time: You can protect your child online and keep them safe, while also giving them the autonomy and independence they need to grow up,” she said. “It’s that open communication that’s so important.”
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Liana Hardy is a member of the Citizen’s Report for America Corps and an education reporter. Her position relies on reader support. You can make a tax-deductible donation to the Citizen through RFA here.
