Thank you to everyone who attended the Mobile Phone Session for parents. It was wonderful to see both parents and teachers in attendance.

During the session, I covered the evolving history of mobile phones, from the limitations of early models to the transformative impact of smartphones. I shared personal anecdotes, starting with my first Motorola flip phone, which could only make and receive calls and lacked the option to switch the ringtone to silent. We then explored how Nokia dominated the market until the release of the iPhone in 2007, which revolutionsed our perception of phones. I highlighted the introduction of the App Store, enabling individuals to develop and distribute apps, and emphasised the profound impact of WhatsApp on communication.

Smartphones have since become versatile devices, allowing us to watch movies, play high-definition games, listen to music, chat, and create content.

I also delved into the design versus addiction debate, arguing that smartphones are intentionally designed to be addictive. This discussion included insightful quotes, such as:

• “There are only two industries that call their customers ‘users’: illegal drugs and software.” — Edward Tufte, American statistician
• “If something is a tool, it genuinely is just sitting there, waiting patiently. If something is not a tool it’s demanding things from you. It’s seducing you, it’s manipulating you, it wants things from you. We’ve moved away from a tools-based technology environment, to an addiction and manipulation used technology environment. Social media isn’t a tool waiting to be used. It has its own goals, and it has its own means of pursuing them by using your psychology against you.” – Tristan Harris, former design ethicist at Google and co-founder of Centre for Humane Technologies

Additionally, I shared mobile phone usage statistics from the USA and presented first-ever technology and mobile use survey among our students results from our students. Please click here to watch the survey video.

We aim to shift the narrative from undermining students’ behavior to supporting them in navigating the challenges posed by multinational companies vying for their attention. We need to empower them to make informed digital choices.

Our discussion will continue in the next academic year, where we plan to openly address the topic of mobile phone use or potential bans at NCBIS. Please click here to access the presentation.

Kind regards

Atif Hussain

Director of IT