When Naomi Wynd was preparing her daughter to start high school this year, one thing was crystal clear from the outset. Subscribe now for unlimited access . Login or signup to continue reading $ 0 / $ NaN /year All articles from our website & app The digital version of Today's Paper Breaking news alerts direct to your inbox Interactive Crosswords, Sudoku and Trivia All articles from the other regional websites in your area Continue Twelve-year-old Nina would not be getting a smartphone.
Wynd and her partner were completely united on this front - no endless scrolling or social media complications for Nina as she began at Campbell High. But there was still the question of staying connected. Heading to high school meant being away, beyond sight and hearing, for so much longer than a primary school kid.
So Wynd settled on a "dumbphone" - that is, a phone that can only make and receive calls and send texts. You know, like we all used to get by with just fine. In the end, Nina was almost the only of her peers to have a dumbphone, but there was one development that made the whole process much easier - the territory-wide phone ban in public schools.
"I was so happy that policy came in when Nina was just starting high school," Wynd says. The ban, which came into effect at the beginning of the current school year, has brought the territory in line with other states and allowed many parents to breathe a sigh of relief. Think of it: eight beautiful hours in which you can be reasonably ce.