How public schools have dealt with cell phones has varied a lot across locations and over the past two decades the devices and their users have changed. Now, state laws are beginning to require phone bans, and parents have mixed opinions.
Cell phones do have some use in education — my firstborn, for example, used theirs for an online Japanese class facilitated by the school system, employing an app with a special keyboard to make kanji characters. However, school administrators mostly see them as a distraction, and sometimes a tool for bullying and cruel behavior.
Meanwhile, some parents see the bans as a removal of their own access and control over their child’s day.
Experts Believe Bans Improve Academics & Mental Health
Human Development and Family Science Professor Matthew Mulvaney says in an opinion piece for The Post-Standard that the move is overdue, as his state, New York, considers joining others that have enacted bans on phones in schools.
He says it may be “one of the most critical” legislative moves to help all schoolchildren, especially the “most vulnerable” and those in communities or demographics that suffered the most from COVID-19. He says:
“Most notably, children from marginalized communities were both impacted to a greater extent by Covid and are now impacted to a greater degree by the negative effects of smartphones. Coupled together, we have a situation in which educational inequities are widening across privilege groups to an even greater extent beyond the wide inequities present prior to this point.”
The Surgeon General Has Issued A Warning
There are several different concerns expressed by experts: learning loss, as Professor Mulvaney describes; bullying and harassment (teachers and administrators have seen videos posted online that potentially invade other students’ privacy or endanger them); general cell phone addiction; and the risks of social media.
Last year, the U.S. Surgeon General issued a warning about the potential harms of social media to teens. He acknowledged that there are benefits, including connection to friends and the ability to build one’s own support group, but said that so far we don’t have sufficient data to determine the severity of the risks.
We do know, though, that the risks exist. As the report stated:
“Recent research shows that adolescents who spend more than three hours per day on social media face double the risk of experiencing poor mental health outcomes, such as symptoms of depression and anxiety; yet one 2021 survey of teenagers found that, on average, they spend 3.5 hours a day on social media. Social media may also perpetuate body dissatisfaction, disordered eating behaviors, social comparison, and low self-esteem, especially among adolescent girls.”
Preventing the use of cell phones during school hours can mitigate these risks by decreasing the amount of time spent on the devices.
When Cell Phones Are Educational Tools
Cell phones do have some value in education. As mentioned above, an app made writing in Japanese (and sending it to an instructor via internet for checking) accessible for my child.
Child psychology specialist and research professor Peter Gray of Boston College told Axios that he believes cell phones should be implemented in classrooms for educational purposes.
Teaching kids how to use the devices for learning rather than for their less-savory and more-distracting uses could be a way to boost the benefits and decrease the risks of cell phone use. He said:
“If we think we’re going to solve the problem by taking cellphones away from kids, we’re not…If anything, we’re adding to their anxiety.”
Some Parents Are All In On Cell Phone Bans
For instance, in North Carolina’s Wake County, a group of parents showed up at a Board of Education meeting over the summer to pressure the school district to ban the devices in classrooms. The group included a doctor and a former City Council member.
These parents argued in favor of bans because of the damage they see cell phones doing to mental health and academics. According to WRAL, the former councilwoman, Nicole Stewart, compared the proposal to bans on tobacco on campus, and said:
“Constant interruption is a huge part of it. Children being interrupted in school ruins their attention, brings down their grades and interrupts the teachers…it’s that constant attention and addiction that we need to overcome so they can be successful, productive human beings in the future.”
A Majority Of Parents Prefer Limits, Rather Than Bans
A survey earlier this year by the National Parents Union found that most parents don’t want the state to make the rules. They’d prefer that each district or school determine what is appropriate for their students.
Also, when it comes to those decisions, many of these parents say they’d prefer cell phones to be used for educational purposes when appropriate, and permitted at lunch and recess. However, these parents also recognize that social media is having negative impacts on kids’ mental health, and are concerned about that. They want to encourage safe and appropriate use of phones, rather than ban them.
The president of the National Parent Union, Keri Rodriguez, pointed to parents’ desire to stay in contact with their kids. She explained:
“It’s 2024 – and all families rely on cell phones to stay connected and communicate now more than ever. Whether it’s connecting in case of an emergency, planning after school logistics or even if a child is feeling anxious about an issue in school and needs positive reinforcement or advice – it’s clear that parents want to be able to have clear and open channels of communication with their own children.”
This has only been amplified as we’ve all watched horror stories develop in the news, from kids using their own phones to contact parents or police in the midst of violent attacks on their schools, to exposure of abusive teachers or staff.
Parents, Teachers, And Experts Have One Goal In Common
We all want our students to be safe. That safety may look different from different perspectives.
Across the board, parents and experts in child development, mental health, and education all seem to agree that cell phone use in classrooms should be limited, at least, even if there’s a divide on exactly where those limits should be.
The divide comes down to whether devices should simply be banned from classrooms and left for students to access on their own time or whether schools should be implementing efforts to teach kids when and how it’s appropriate to use them.
Enterprising students who want a say in the matter may have an opportunity to demonstrate to their parents, teachers, and school administrators that they can use their phones for educational purposes through self-motivated projects or presentations and have their own voices heard in the debate.
