North Carolina middle schoolers have had their mirror privileges stripped away after being caught skipping classes to make TikTok videos in the bathroom.
The Alamance-Burlington School System announced that Southern Alamance Middle School has decided to remove mirrors from its restrooms to reduce distractions, as reported by WFMY News.
The move came as the school officials observed that many students were taking trips to the bathrooms seven or eight times a day, and in many cases, during class.
"Students were going to the bathroom for long periods of time and making TikTok videos," Les Atkins, the public relations officer for the school system, told the publication.
The school official revealed that the removal of mirrors has proven to be effective so far as students have been spending less time in the bathroom.
"Since removing the mirrors, we have seen a drastic decrease in bathroom visits from students asking to be excused just to make videos," Atkins said, per Daily Mail.
"[The school saw] not as many visits to the bathroom, and [students] not staying as long. And students are held accountable. When there's accountability, you see a great difference," he added.
Many people - including parents - have taken to social media to express support for the school's approach, noting that there are too many distractions for middle school students.
"That’s a good way forward…TikTok is addictive," one person applauded on X (formerly Twitter), while another person praised the school: "Good for them!"
However, others believe that mirrors are not the problem, and have urged teachers to implement a new plan that will help students concentrate more during school hours.
One person stated: "Surely this will not solve the problem of addiction, you need to think carefully and find the cause of the problem and not fight the effect."
Another chimed in: "Or, work with me here...BAN SMARTPHONES. Force kids to keep their phones in their lockers or cubbies until the end of the day," while a third questioned: "Why are students allowed to have phones in school? It would make more sense to remove the phones."
A fourth also shared a similar sentiment: "The students will still have the same recording devices in their possession, right? At least they can use those same devices to check their hair and makeup after they're done recording their mirror-free videos."
The school district also developed Smart Pass - which is a digital hall pass system that lets students check in and out when they leave classrooms. It is part of the school's existing software, therefore it won't add extra expenses to the district.
"We strive to limit distractions so students can focus on learning. Though this is an adjustment, we believe these changes will foster a better learning environment by minimizing disruptions," the school district said, per The New York Post.
Speaking about the digital hall pass, Atkins explained: "We’re trying to educate students: we all have cell phones now. We have to learn to use them. We have to learn when to put them down."
