Cell Phones

Expectations Regarding the Use of Personal Devices

If your scout is like most kids today, he probably spends a lot of time in front of screens. One of the gifts that scouting provides is time spent in meaningful activities that do not involve screens. Scouts are engaging with other scouts and adult leaders face to face. They are experiencing the wonders of nature directly. They might even learn to deal with being a little bored. Screens are not invading interactions with other people or nature in scouting – a rarity in today’s world. For digital-native kids, that can all be a bit scary, but the end results can be truly magical.

With all that said, Troop 455 generally expects that personal devices like watches and cell phones are not in use during scout activities such as the weekly meetings and outings. Depending on the context, that expectation could be enforced by collecting devices at the start of the activity or by requiring that the devices be stored away. You can decide if your scout should bring a device for other reasons, like coordinating drop off or pick up, but the device should disappear in some fashion during the activity if it is brought by the scout.

As a parent, remember that the no personal device usage expectation applies to weekend outings. Your scout should not be calling you during the outing for check ins or to say good night and vice versa. Between the time you drop him off on Friday and pick him up on Sunday, the assumption is that your scout is out of contact. The adult leaders and chaperones on the outings all have cell phones for communication in the case of incidents or emergencies.

Shielding the scouting experience from the ever-present screens and devices is possible only with the cooperation of everyone, including the scouts, adult leadership, and yes, the parents.