Schools Outlawing Cell Phones

Schools Outlawing Cell Phones

Local schools are now in session and the controversy over school policies for cell phone usage in the classroom continues to persist across the nation.

At Des Moines' Hoover High School, students will no longer be allowed to use cellphones, headphones, or AirPods during the school day this year. Under the Hoover Mental Health Movement, administrators are also encouraging parents and caregivers to wait to introduce cellphones to kids until they are 14 years old and encouraging young people not to use social media until age 16. Here are additional local school policies on cellphone use.

According to the Pew Research Center, 72% of high school teachers believe that students being distracted by cell phones in their classroom, as do 33% of middle school teachers and 6% of elementary teachers. Overall, 82% of teachers of all grades (K-12) report that their school has some type of cellphone policy, although 30% note that the policies are difficult to enforce. 

To-date, only 3 states have policies banning cellphones in the classroom: Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina.

97% of teens say they use their phones during the school day; timed use ranges from less than one minute to 6-1/2 hours, with an average of 43 minutes. Checking for messages, watching and sharing videos, playing games, chatting, videotaping other students and teachers, and getting into conflict or bullying peers. “Coming out of the pandemic, we have seen substantial increase in poor behaviors regarding cellphones and social media (including) a drastic increase in behaviors that appear to be addiction to these devices,” noted a Director of Digital Learning in Washington.

Surveys of classroom teachers found that the major issues with cellphones in the classroom include distraction, shorter attention spans, apathy, depression, anxiety, cyberbullying.

Highlighted by a recent U.S. Surgeon General’s advisory regarding an epidemic of loneliness and isolation in modern society, social connections are significantly important for the health and well-being of students, education leaders note.  “We’re just looking at ways that we can encourage and promote healthy social interactions with our students.”

Social media can provide benefits for some children, such as being a source of connection for young people who have disabilities or belong to the LGBTQ+ community, according to a May advisory from the U.S. Surgeon General. However, “there are ample indicators that social media can also have a profound risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents,” the advisory states.

Digital literacy is a key educational component of Chrysalis After-School programs. Helping girls understand both the positive and negative effects of using their cellphones – including the dangers they may present – and how they can find better alternatives to connect with others.

Read more about how schools believe they can win the competition with cellphones.