ALAMANCE COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — Some bathrooms at a North Carolina middle school are with mirrors after disruptive behavior from students, the Alamance-Burlington School System says.
This week, ABSS announced that Southern Alamance Middle School, located in Graham, had some mirrors moved from hallway bathrooms because students were making TikTok videos during class time.
"Since removing the mirrors, we have seen a drastic decrease in bathroom visits from students asking to be excused just to make videos," Les Atkins, the Public Relations Officer for ABSS, said. "We strive to limit distractions so students can focus on learning."
The school district has also started using a digital hall pass system, which allows students to check in and out when leaving class, allowing the school to know where students are at all times.
"Though this is an adjustment, we believe these changes will foster a better learning environment by minimizing disruptions," the district says.
Across the country, schools are continuing to work to find ways to keep TikTok from distracting from learning. Back in 2022, Austin Independent School District in Austin, Texas, told Nexstar's KXAN News that it was dealing with incidents of students acting out TikTok challenges — including the "slap a teacher" challenge — and working to keep abreast of what new things are trending on the app so that staff can be prepared.
Though schools are working to combat the addictive draw of the app, it can be a difficult task. After all, with 1 in 6 teens telling Pew Research Institute they use TikTok and YouTube “almost constantly,” there’s lots of competition for student attention on any school day.
In recent years, TikTok itself has worked to install safeguards for youth use of the app. This includes more robust privacy settings, in addition to the introduction of Family Pairing, which allows guardians to more closely monitor what kids see and how long they can spend on the app each day.