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What Students Are Saying About School Cellphone Bans

Policies restricting phone use in schools are trending. We asked students if they thought such rules were a good idea.

By The Learning Network

Nearly one in four countries has laws or policies banning or restricting student cellphone use in schools . Proponents say no-phone rules reduce student distractions and bullying. Critics say the bans could hinder student self-direction and critical thinking.

We asked teenagers what they thought: Should schools ban cellphones?

The reactions were mixed. Many students brought up the same reasons they wanted access to their phones during the day: to listen to music, to contact their parents and even for schoolwork. But many recognized the need for some boundaries around phone use, with several supporting an outright ban. Read their arguments below.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the conversation on our writing prompts this week, including students from Midtown High School in Atlanta ; Parkway South High School in Manchester, Mo. ; and Miami Country Day School in Miami, Fla .

Please note: Student comments have been lightly edited for length, but otherwise appear as they were originally submitted.

No phones in school? We’re all for it, some students said.

Recently, I stopped bringing my phone to school. I only had an Apple Watch to listen to music and message my family. This change has allowed me to focus more during my classes and I’ve come up with more creative ideas due to this change. To put it simply, while the banning of cellphones may take some time to fully get used to, it’s a necessity for all schools in order for their students to concentrate and participate more quickly. One of the main problems with cellphone usage in class is that students aren’t talking with one another. Instead, everyone is talking AT each other, because they’re always on their phones messaging or checking social media. With the banning of phones however, students can engage with one another without the use of technology, which can be described as “authentic,” or more personal.

— Leo, Midtown High School

I think that schools should ban cellphones because most problems in school typically circle back to cellphones. Students will take videos or photos of others during school and this gets uploaded to social media. They usually get bullied and aren’t comfortable being posted on social media. Kids are also always on their phones during class. Their grades start to go down and then they fail. All of these problems can be avoided if they just ban phones in school.

— Mylea, CNY

The phrase “eyes glued to the screen” is an understatement to how little students converse with one another due to something “more important” on their phone. It’s increasingly alarming and concerning that I have seen on many occasions a whole group of people sitting at a table, pressing away or scrolling on their phones, and all I hear is silence. Consequently, this adds to the overarching problem of mental health issues because of how attached students are to devices. They lose the skill of communication and therefore are not able to converse very well in the long-term.

— Alex, Manchester

I believe that we are in a weird time, where cellphone usage is so normalized, that being asked to put it away makes people mad. While I understand the annoyance with having your property confiscated, I do think it’s for the better of students. We are at a point where time and time again it’s been proven by ourselves that we have absolutely no self control and are unable to stay off phones when asked. I do think checking cameras and driving around during lunch is an extreme; but it may be necessary. If you need phones to do online classes, then use a computer. If older generations were able to make it 8 hours without checking an Instagram story, then so can we.

— emmies, midtown highschool

In my school, many students amble around campus, staring down at their phones, completely oblivious to the world around them. I have witnessed some of my peers bump into walls or into other students as they are entranced in their small electronic devices. The attention that students pay to their phones takes away from socializing, interacting, and learning throughout the school day. This has had a profound negative impact on their grades that is oftentimes irreversible. For example, in middle school, cellphone use was not permitted during the school day. Many of my peers were more engaged in their classes and thus had higher grades. When we got to high school, the rules changed and phones were allowed. Some of my same peers that had good grades, are now on academic probation for failing classes. Although this could be a result of many different factors, the main change from middle school to high school was phone usage.

Phones also interfere with quality social interactions. I noticed that in middle school, many students engaged more with one another, had quality conversations, and strong friendships. Some of these same students now have very few friends and engage with electronics more than people. It is important to keep in mind that this is the reality of some students, but not all. Many of my current friends in school have not let the electronic device world have such an intense impact on their lives, and therefore are very social and are doing fantastic academically.

— Arabella, Miami Country Day School/Miami Florida

Others recognized the need for some boundaries around phone use, but thought an outright ban went too far.

Cellphones should be limited, not banned, in schools but with a couple of key qualifications. During class time, I think there should be no phones allowed from when the bell rings to start the class to when the bell rings to end the class. There should be breaks in the middle of the class, as the teacher sees fit, such as how we do in some of my classes, to take a quick break and check notifications before getting back into it. This would hopefully influence students to use dedicated class time wisely and be more “checked in” so to speak while not missing out on possible crucial messages or emergencies that may come through during that class. However, if a student is in a free period, they should be able to use their phone. It is up to the student to use their time wisely outside of class to get their work done and allowing the student to have some independence in making a responsible choice as a young adult in the making is a positive.

— Jack, Ames, Iowa

An alternative to the use of phones in school is to heavily regulate media in the range of school, meaning not just banning social media under the school network but also having students log on to an application during school which only allows access to important needs for phones like contacting parents or educational apps, in case of a student’s laptop being dead, broken or forgotten at home. In the grand scheme of things, I believe removing a student’s phone would also cause more of a problem in the situation of an emergency because they will not be able to contact their parents. Banning them is definitely not necessary but a regulation on cell phones would be beneficial to students as a whole.

— Jaden, Sun Valley, CA

In every class, you’ll see people with their cellphone out, or laying on their desk next to them, just within reach for when it buzzes. Every time this buzz distracts the student, it takes their brain at least five seconds to focus back on the task they were working on, decreasing productivity and increasing errors. I believe that teachers should confiscate students’ phones during class, and have rules for when this confiscation is violated. However, if said class is a free period, the students could keep their phones out, to be able to communicate with their parents and keep up with their extracurriculars. Many parents should support their child focusing on school, and will be fine with them only responding in 90 minute intervals in between classes.

— Katya, Midtown High School

For me, the best policy for students is for teachers to take phones during classes and instructional time and give them back after class. I know some students are against having their phones taken during class, but I do think it increases focus. During free periods and lunch, I think it is important for students to have time to be there on their phones because it provides a time to relax and enjoy something not school-related.

— Ginny, J.R. Masterman Philadelphia

I use my phone as another device for my school work. For example, if I’m given a piece of writing to work on, I’ll have the assignment and instructions pulled up on my phone while I complete the work on my iPad. I understand the frustration teachers may have when they’re talking and multiple students are scrolling on TikTok or using Snapchat while learning a lesson. This can affect their work and education, however banning phones is excessive. If it’s become a problem or a setback in classes, setting a rule to make sure the phone stays in a bag can just may be an option. Otherwise it’s not easy for me to communicate among my parents, friends, or even boss.

— Sofia, Glenbard West High School

Some wanted unrestricted access to their phones during the day for a variety of reasons.

As a student who was born and raised in Ethiopia, we weren’t allowed to have a cellphone at all. It did have advantages like socializing, we ate lunch together and hung out together. We also did a lot of activities together but it didn’t do any good in my academics. Most parents and teachers worry that having a phone would be a distraction from having a better grade but for me, I had higher grades when I had my phone compared to my old grade when I didn’t have my phone. Although it might be distracting in class, it helped me a lot by using it for research or listening to music when I wanted to study. It also helped me to contact my parents whenever I wanted. I would not welcome a ban in my school because I learn with my phone since I work better when I research and take notes and most of my teachers just lecture.

— Yohanan, Vancouver, WA

When cellphones/messaging devices started out they were a hit. They gave some brief release for students that need a second to rest so they can focus better. This is still true today. I have to go through 5 periods without a break where I am either sitting at a desk or walking to class. Those few moments with my phone help a lot. Our attention spans are not infinite. Cellphones in schools also give me a connection to my home and parents when I need to talk to them. There has never been a student that has done poorly on a test and didn’t want to vent it out to someone. For me, this is my mom and dad. They are always good at calming me down and stopping me from spiraling. Without cellphones, I would never have that person close to help me.

— Tyson, Fountain Valley

There have been a few times this year when I’ve had to text my parents to come pick me up because I’ve been sick and needed to go home. The ease with which I was able to contact them would no longer exist if a phone ban was implemented, as not every teacher allows students free access to the office without a “valid” reason (and sickness isn’t always seen as such). Even if I were able to go to the office to reach my parents, the time this process took would be significantly longer. Thus, cellphone bans are simply too extreme for most schools, and districts should instead consider other forms of restriction to have the benefits of bans, without the consequences.

— Charlotte, Midtown High School

And a few thought students, rather than teachers or the school, should bear the burden for using their phones responsibly.

I don’t think schools should ban cellphones and I would not welcome a cellphone ban in my school. I think as high school students we need to be responsible for our own actions. If you are a student and you are on your phone in your class you need to accept the consequences that your grades and understanding of the material will suffer. Students need to learn how to pay attention in class without getting on their phones. In college no teachers are going to be getting them in trouble for being on their phones. How will they teach themselves the self control to not be on your phone in class?

— Kathryn, Maury High School

I have mixed emotions on this topic. I feel that high schoolers should be held responsible for their own education. If they choose to not pay attention in class and not take advantage of all the tools that their teachers are giving them, then they should do whatever they want. As 15-year-olds and up, high school teachers should not be held responsible for 100+ students learning. The student themselves needs to be responsible for their own learning and their own grades.

— Emily, Baker High School

At least one student said working to address the root causes of teenage “cellphone addiction” might be a better approach.

Many students are drawn to scrolling through social media as a coping mechanism or an escape from the fact that they struggle with school or have been otherwise discouraged from learning and connecting with their peers. While these are not excuses for being distracted or disrespectful, working to address the root causes of the widespread cellphone addiction might be more helpful long-term than a cellphone ban. While the ban seems to be an effective short term solution for the school day, it might harm students when they go to college or find themselves in a world where there are no strict bans and they must self-regulate their screen time. Working to address these root causes as well as fostering responsibility would help young people feel more connected to the world around them and better prepare them for the world.

— Abigail, Maury High School- Norfolk, VA

In the end, some saw the appeal of a ban but worried it would “only intensify” students’ negative attitudes toward school.

I understand why a ban might seem appealing to certain teachers and administrators, however, I also believe that it would be more harmful than beneficial in the long run. Many students already have negative attitudes toward school: a major cause of stress and dread for some. I strongly feel a cellphone ban would only intensify these negative attitudes towards school as a whole. It wouldn’t motivate students to attend, and would almost villainize the school itself. It just isn’t worth it. Speaking from experiences at my school and things that I’ve noticed, I observe that the majority of students do a good job staying off their phones and paying attention during class. Our school doesn’t strongly restrict phones, and it has never really been a problem. Additionally, I feel that a ban on cellphones would only do so much. If a student really wants to be on their phone, they will find a way to do so regardless of whatever ban may or may not be in place.

— Natalie, Glen Ellyn, IL

Learn more about Current Events Conversation here and find all of our posts in this column .

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Argumentative Essay on Cell Phones in School

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Published: Mar 5, 2024

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Should Cellphones Be Allowed in School?

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Introduction

Cellphone use among students has skyrocketed over the last few years. In fact, it has now become uncommon for a student to not have a cellphone. Students will write an argumentative essay detailing why they should be able allowed to utilize their cellphones in school.

Learning Objectives

• ( ELA-Literacy.W.6.1 ) Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
• ( ELA-Literacy.W.6.1.b ) Support claim(s) with clear reasons and relevant evidence, using credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.

For the full writing prompt, download the PDF.

Download Full Writing Prompt: Should Cellphones Be Allowed in School?

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Banning mobile phones in schools: beneficial or risky? Here’s what the evidence says

Distinguished Research Professor, Monash University

Disclosure statement

Neil Selwyn receives research funding from the Australian Research Council, Australian Government Office of Learning and Teaching (OLT), Australian Communications Consumer Action Network & AuDA Foundation.

Monash University provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation AU.

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Victorian education minister James Merlino’s announcement mobile phones will be banned for all students at state primary and secondary schools is certainly a bold move.

The policy has been justified as a direct response to mounting levels of cyberbullying, concerns over distractions and schools struggling with discipline relating to students’ misuse of phones.

Students will have to switch off their phones and store them in lockers from the start of the school day until the final bell. In case of an emergency, parents or guardians can reach their child by calling the school.

The minister said in a statement :

The only exceptions to the ban will be where students use phones to monitor health conditions, or where teachers instruct students to bring their phone for a particular classroom activity.

Whether to allow student use of mobile phones in school is certainly a hot topic in education. The Victorian announcement follows a French government ban on mobiles in school in 2018. Debates on the issue are also taking place in Denmark , Sweden and the United Kingdom .

There is considerable public support for banning mobiles. In our recently conducted survey of more than 2,000 Australian adults, nearly 80% supported a ban on mobile phones in classrooms. Just under one-third supported an outright ban from schools altogether.

Support for a classroom ban was remarkably consistent across different demographics, including political affiliation and age group.

But while banning phones from classrooms, and from school altogether, might seem sensible, there are number of reasons to be cautious. It’s clear we need to carefully consider how we want to make use of digital devices being brought into schools. But previous experience, such as in New York, suggests a blanket ban might introduce even more problems.

And the little research evidence that addresses the issue is mixed.

What’s the evidence?

Reports of cyberbullying have clearly gone up among school-aged children and young people over the past ten years, but the nature and precedents of cyberbullying are complex.

Research suggests there is a large overlap between cyberbullying and traditional forms of bullying, which wouldn’t then follow that digital devices are somehow causing these behaviours.

Cyberbullying also often takes place outside school hours and premises. There is a danger banning phones from classrooms might distract education staff from having to continue with efforts to address the more immediate causes of cyberbullying.

Read more: Teenagers need our support, not criticism, as they navigate life online

There is also a growing literature exploring the links between digital devices and classroom distractions. The presence of phones in the classroom is certainly found to be a source of multi-tasking among students of all ages – some of which can be educationally relevant and much of which might not.

But the impact of these off-task behaviours on student learning outcomes is difficult to determine. A review of 132 academic studies concluded, it is

difficult to determine directions and mechanisms of the causal relations between mobile phone multitasking and academic performance.

There is also a strong sense from classroom research that issues of distraction apply equally to laptops , iPads and other digital devices.

All told, the sense from academic literature is that the realities of smartphone use in classrooms are complex and decidedly messy. Our own research into how smartphones are being used in Victorian classrooms highlighted the difficulties teachers face in policing student use (what some teachers described as requiring “five minutes of firefighting” at the beginning of every lesson).

Despite this, we also found instances of students using smartphones for a range of beneficial purposes – from impromptu information seeking to live-streaming lessons for sick classmates.

Read more: Schools are asking students to bring digital devices to class, but are they actually being used?

These benefits are also reflected in classroom studies elsewhere in the world. Research from Stanford University has demonstrated , for instance, that with proper support and preparation, teachers in even the most challenging schools can “build on the ways students already use technology outside of school to help them learn in the classroom”.

There is now a whole academic field known as “ m-Learning ” where researchers have explored the pedagogical and learning advantages of using mobile devices (including phones) in lessons.

But what about a blanket ban from school altogether? Experience from elsewhere suggests enforcing a mobile ban in schools may not be as easy as it sounds.

What we can learn from others

The New South Wales government announced a review into the benefits and risks of mobile phone use in schools in June 2018, led by child psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg. At the review’s completion, the government said it would only ban mobile phones from the state’s primary schools, leaving secondary schools free to make their own choice.

We recognise that technology plays an important and increasing role as students progress through their education […] We want to give secondary schools the flexibility to balance the benefits and risks of technology in the way that best supports their students.

Perhaps the most pertinent example is the ban enforced in New York City from 2006, that was eventually lifted in 2015.

The reasons given for this reversal highlighted several of the concerns the new ban in Victoria will likely face. They include practical difficulties of enforcing a ban in the classroom being exacerbated by banning of phone use during break times and lunchtimes.

First, it was clear the New York ban was being inconsistently enforced by schools – with better resourced schools in more affluent areas more likely to bend the rules and permit student use. In contrast, schools in lower-income areas with metal detectors were more likely to be rigidly enforcing the ban.

Other motivations for lifting the ban were concerns over student safety such as the need for students to contact family members during break times and lunchtimes. Families were also incurring costs to store phones securely outside of the school. There was also a recognition teachers should be trusted to exercise their professional judgement as to how they could be making good educational use of devices in their lessons.

Read more: Should mobile phones be banned in schools? We asked five experts

At the same time, it was reckoned government resources were better directed toward supporting students to learn how to use technology responsibly through cyber-safety lessons.

All these reasons are as relevant now to Victorian schools as they were to New York City schools in 2015. The use (and non-use) of mobile phones in schools is certainly an issue we need to have a proper conversation about. But it might not be as clear-cut as the recent policy announcements suggest.

• Mobile phones
• technology in schools
• mobile phone ban

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Bans may help protect classroom focus, but districts need to stay mindful of students’ sense of connection, experts say

Students around the world are being separated from their phones.

In 2020, the National Center for Education Statistics reported that 77 percent of U.S. schools had moved to prohibit cellphones for nonacademic purposes. In September 2018, French lawmakers outlawed cellphone use for schoolchildren under the age of 15. In China, phones were banned country-wide for schoolchildren last year.

Supporters of these initiatives have cited links between smartphone use and bullying and social isolation and the need to keep students focused on schoolwork.

77% Of U.S. schools moved to ban cellphones for nonacademic purposes as of 2020, according to the National Center for Education Statistics

But some Harvard experts say instructors and administrators should consider learning how to teach with tech instead of against it, in part because so many students are still coping with academic and social disruptions caused by the pandemic. At home, many young people were free to choose how and when to use their phones during learning hours. Now, they face a school environment seeking to take away their main source of connection.

“Returning back to in-person, I think it was hard to break the habit,” said Victor Pereira, a lecturer on education and co-chair of the Teaching and Teaching Leadership Program at the Graduate School of Education.

Through their students, he and others with experience both in the classroom and in clinical settings have seen interactions with technology blossom into important social connections that defy a one-size-fits-all mindset. “Schools have been coming back, trying to figure out, how do we readjust our expectations?” Pereira added.

It’s a hard question, especially in the face of research suggesting that the mere presence of a smartphone can undercut learning .

Michael Rich , an associate professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and an associate professor of social and behavioral sciences at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, says that phones and school don’t mix: Students can’t meaningfully absorb information while also texting, scrolling, or watching YouTube videos.

“The human brain is incapable of thinking more than one thing at a time,” he said. “And so what we think of as multitasking is actually rapid-switch-tasking. And the problem with that is that switch-tasking may cover a lot of ground in terms of different subjects, but it doesn’t go deeply into any of them.”

Pereira’s approach is to step back — and to ask whether a student who can’t resist the phone is a signal that the teacher needs to work harder on making a connection. “Two things I try to share with my new teachers are, one, why is that student on the phone? What’s triggering getting on your cell phone versus jumping into our class discussion, or whatever it may be? And then that leads to the second part, which is essentially classroom management.

“Design better learning activities, design learning activities where you consider how all of your students might want to engage and what their interests are,” he said. He added that allowing phones to be accessible can enrich lessons and provide opportunities to use technology for school-related purposes.

Mesfin Awoke Bekalu, a research scientist in the Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness at the Chan School, argues that more flexible classroom policies can create opportunities for teaching tech-literacy and self-regulation.

“There is a huge, growing body of literature showing that social media platforms are particularly helpful for people who need resources or who need support of some kind, beyond their proximate environment,” he said. A study he co-authored by Rachel McCloud and Vish Viswanath for the Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness shows that this is especially true for marginalized groups such as students of color and LGBTQ students. But the findings do not support a free-rein policy, Bekalu stressed.

In the end, Rich, who noted the particular challenges faced by his patients with attention-deficit disorders and other neurological conditions, favors a classroom-by-classroom strategy. “It can be managed in a very local way,” he said, adding: “It’s important for parents, teachers, and the kids to remember what they are doing at any point in time and focus on that. It’s really only in mono-tasking that we do very well at things.”

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Banning Cell Phones in Schools Essay Example

Do schools care that cell phones are creating an unhealthy environment for students? In almost every free period, students sit on their cell phones with their heads down. Why would schools want their students to waste free time when they can spend that time working on school work or interacting with others? Students are also missing out on so much information just from being on their cell phone during a class. Cell phones cause distractions, fewer interactions, and failure. Schools should care about their students by banning cell phones. 

The main reason why students are becoming more distracted during class is because of their cell phones. When students sit on their cell phones during a class, it makes it very difficult for them to stay focused. Since the use of cell phones are increasing, bullying over social media is also starting to increase. Because of this, students face emotional hits if they see that they are left out of a group chat or see photos of which they compare themselves to. If this happens to a student during the schoolday, it can make it very difficult for them to stay engaged during class or when they are doing school work (“Smartphones”). 

Along with students being distracted, cell phones have caused fewer interactions between students. U.S. government teacher, Joe Clemet, and teacher, Matt Miles, have said that free periods have deteriorated from lively talk among students and teachers to silent screen reading. Clement thought that he could bring back the lively talk of students during free period classes by restricting cell phones. Students responded by not showing up. Instead, students went to a different free period class where cell phones were not restricted (Mathews). Also, it has been found that cell phone use increases the rate of depression. Face-to-face interactions with friends helps decreases the rate of depression (“Smartphones”). Creating a school environment without cell phones will help give students the opportunity to have face-to-face interactions with other students. Creating a school environment without cell phones will also help create a healthy environment for students. 

Furthermore, cell phone in school does not boost achievement. Students who interact with their cell phones during class tend to perform poorly on tests (usually a full letter grade or more). Some schools that have decided to change their cell phone policy saw an increase in test scores by 6.41%. Based on a study in 2017, some participants were told to keep their cell phones nearby and the other participants were told to put their cell phones in a different room. Then, each participant was asked to perform a memory test. The participants who didn’t have their cell phones performed much better than the participants who had their cell phones (“Smartphones”).

Finally, some schools believe that allowing students to use their cell phones during the school day isn’t a bad thing. Some schools have even worked cell phones into the daily curriculum. From text reminders to school apps, cell phones are making the learning system much more easier (Kennedy). Even though cell phones are making the learning system much more easier, there will be a higher chance that students will cheat, cell phones will still cause distractions, and there will still be fewer interactions between students.Working cell phones into the daily curriculum won’t solve these problems.

In conclusion, cell phones create an unhealthy school environment for students. They cause distractions, failure, and fewer interactions. It has been proven that students perform poorly in school if cell phones are allowed. It has also been proven that decreasing cell phone use in school will help increase interactions between students. Schools should want their students to have a healthy environment. Cell phones should be banned in schools.

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