00:00We live in a digital world where the communication device of choice has been the portable, practical
00:05and versatile smartphone or mobile phone.
00:08It is a must-have personal accessory even for kids who go to school.
00:12Sadly, however, the ubiquitous and ever-utile smartphone is having a deleterious effect
00:17on school children.
00:19The results of a recent poll commissioned by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian show more than
00:23three quarters of 76 percent of parents who took the survey support a ban on cell phones
00:28in schools.
00:30And parents nationwide and across all social classes A, B, C, D and E agree their kids
00:36in school are not learning enough, or as they should, given smartphone distraction caused
00:41by games on social media apps like TikTok that are widely popular and accessible to
00:45kids.
00:47Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, for his part, released a statement earlier today indicating
00:51his even stronger resolve over the results of the latest polls to see if proposed Senate
00:56Bill 2706 or the Electronic Gadget-Free School Act through, which seeks to prohibit learners
01:02from kindergarten up to senior high school the use of mobile phones in classrooms and
01:07in campus during school hours.
