A school in the US has taken the drastic step of removing the mirrors in the bathrooms to try and stop students from filming TikTok videos there during class time.
Southern Alamance Middle School in North Carolina has taken the step after staff noticed an increase in students taking bathroom breaks during class. Some students were asking to be excused up to nine times per day.
It was noticed by staff that the school bathrooms were appearing in many of the students’ videos on TikTok, and the reason for the bathroom breaks became clear.
So to counter this, the school removed the mirrors from the bathrooms, and since then the number of students taking breaks during class time has dropped dramatically.
In addition, the school implemented a digital hall pass system, which means that students must sign in and out when going to use the bathroom. It means that school leaders can more accurately track where students are at any one time and as a result pick up on any patterns of behaviour among certain students.
In a letter to parents, the school explained why it had taken these measures, saying that they strive to limit any distractions so that students can focus on learning. The letter added that they believe these changes will foster a better learning environment for students.
The school has said that it is also about educating students about using phones responsibly and at the appropriate times.
TikTok has become one of the biggest social media platforms in the world, with more than 4.1 billion downloads since it was launched in 2016. In the US, 25% of TikTok users are aged 10-19.
What do you think about this? Is the school right to remove mirrors or is there another tactic they could have used? Let us know in the comments.
