Rye Middle School students heard from a former social media insider on Tuesday, Sept. 22, about how the apps on their phones are engineered to hijack their attention.

Max Stossel, founder of the nonprofit Social Awakening, led three separate sessions for sixth, seventh and eighth graders at the Rye High School Performing Arts Center. His presentation, titled "We've Been Sneaking Into Your Brains," walked students through specific ways apps capture and hold attention, then offered practical tools to push back, according to the district.

Each grade got its own session. Time was built in for peer discussion about phones, social media and their effects.

Before founding Social Awakening, Stossel ran social media for multinational brands and later worked at a social media company where he helped design the same notification systems he now warns students about. He also serves as Youth and Education Advisor for the Center for Humane Technology.

In a March 2023 presentation at Catholic Central High School, Stossel told students, "It's no coincidence that the apps designed to keep our attention the longest such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, also happen to be the apps that most people feel unhappy after using."

The visit comes as Rye City School District sharpens its focus on how students interact with technology. A district internet-use audit conducted from mid-May to mid-June found that secondary students spent an average of 60 to 90 minutes per day on screens while on the school network, The Rye Record reported. Parents at Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) meetings had raised concerns about classroom screen time and students accessing restricted platforms.

Rye parent Liza Forbes, who has two children at Milton Elementary School, captured the frustration at the Board of Education's June 16 meeting. "Kids are exhausted from the gamification of apps and resisting the constant distractions and notifications," Forbes said.

Superintendent Tricia Murray acknowledged the challenge at the same meeting. "I think that there are things that students are trying to access that could be distracting their learning, and that's something we have to be on top of," Murray said. She told The Rye Record the district has since established updated K-12 technology best practices.

The district said the Stossel presentations tied into The Rye Commitment, the Board of Education's framework for supporting students in becoming critical thinkers and responsible citizens. New York's statewide bell-to-bell cellphone ban in public schools also took effect this school year, adding another layer to how Rye students navigate technology in and out of the classroom.