A girls’ school is banning wearable activity trackers and smartwatches because of concerns that pupils are skipping lunch if they fail to meet their calorie and exercise targets.
Teachers at Stroud high school in Gloucestershire fear the gadgets are exacerbating some girls’ worries about their body image.
The deputy headteacher, Cindi Pride, said the school’s active and healthy pupils did not need to count calories and the number of steps they took each day.
She said: “We are banning Fitbits and smartwatches. These monitor the number of calories burned and we found that some girls would monitor the number of steps they had taken and the number of calories they had used. If they didn’t feel they had taken enough steps in the morning, they wouldn’t eat lunch.
“We don’t need our girls to be counting calories. They are young women who are fit and healthy and they do exercise and PE, and do not need to be obsessed with steps or calories.”
The move was welcomed – with reservations – by a former pupil of the school, Rachel Cross, who had an eating disorder and has set up a support group in Stroud for other people who have similar conditions.
She said: “With young girls it’s very difficult to say if something will lead to an eating disorder or not; using things like Fitbits can just be a cool thing for them to do.
“I think I agree with it, but I do have reservations over whether it will actually prevent anyone from getting a disorder if they are on that path anyway. It’s potentially a good precaution to take. If it’s distracting them from work, it’s a good idea anyway.
“It will be interesting to see how it works out. Pupils always try to bend the rules anyway, for example on the length of skirts.”
Parents appeared to be on board. One said: “This is a good move, which addresses important issues in an appropriate and measured way.” When pupils return from their summer break, girls in years 7 to 9 will be banned from using their mobile phones at all during the school day.
Those in years 10 and 11 will be allowed to use their mobiles at lunch, and pupils in the sixth form – which includes boys – will be allowed to use their phones freely except in lessons.
In a letter to parents, the assistant headteacher, Nadine Moore, wrote that fear of missing out was an additional pressure faced by teens through social media.
She wrote: “Being a teenager is hard enough, but the pressures faced by young people online are unique to this digital generation.
“Research suggests that young people who are heavy users of social media – spending more than two hours per day on social networking sites – are more likely to report poor mental health.
“Seeing friends constantly ‘having fun’ can make young people feel like they are missing out while others enjoy life.
“While for many young people fear of missing out (Fomo) may not be a problem, for others it is causing them distress in the form of anxiety and feelings of inadequacy.”
Pupils were told about the tight new controls at a school assembly. The letter home added: “Social media addiction is thought to affect around 5% of young people, with social media being described as more addictive than cigarettes and alcohol.
“Remember, this will give your daughters nearly seven hours of freedom from the pressures of social media. For their time in school, they will not have to worry about ‘missing out’, or replying quickly enough or knowing about who said what to whom.
“Instead, we will be able to remember that we have real friends in front of us, right now, who we can talk to, play with, have fun with, laugh with. We can share experiences together and value them in their own right, rather than because the picture has been validated by 100 likes on whichever social media platform they use.”
