Many students are returning to school this week—some of them without their cellphones. According to an Education Week (Center bias) analysis, “At least 13 states have passed laws or enacted policies that ban or restrict students’ use of cellphones in schools statewide or recommend local districts enact their own bans or restrictive policies.” Two of the largest school districts in Los Angeles and New York are among those implementing new phone policies. 

According to Pew Research (Center bias), 72% of public high school teachers said cell phone distractions are a major problem in their classrooms, and 44% of teenagers say that their cell phones make them anxious. The U.S. surgeon general issued an advisory last year about the growing evidence linking social media use to mental health issues in teens.

This debate doesn’t fall neatly along partisan lines. There is bipartisan concern about the effect of phones and social media on children and teens. There is also bipartisan support (and opposition) for banning cell phones in schools. On the right and left some argue that phones are at best a distraction and at worst the cause of the depression and anxiety epidemic in youth. Yet, some parents have concerns about being able to reach their children in case of an emergency, and teachers and school administrators are wondering if there are enough resources to equip them to enforce the bans. 

In a New York Post Opinion column (Right bias), a contributor argues for a phone ban. “Two-thirds of Americans students say they are distracted by their digital devices during class. There’s also a second-hand smoke effect: More than half of students are distracted by the devices of other students, according to a 2022 Program for International Student Assessment study.” He continues, “States are looking for practical solutions to address teacher retention, student performance and mental health. A phone ban in the classroom can help with all three.”

A piece by a reporter for the Associated Press (Lean Left bias) says some want to provide solutions beyond technology bans. “Cellphone bans are gaining traction, but many say they’re not enough. They argue for alternative stimulation: steering students outdoors or toward extracurriculars to fill time they might otherwise spend alone online. And students need outlets, they say, to speak about taboo topics without fear of being ‘canceled’ on social media.”

A teacher wrote for Fox News Opinion (Right bias): “Removing phones is winding back the clock on technological progress, and such attempts usually fail, particularly when it concerns a convenience all of us, including teachers, appreciate.” He argued. Concluding, “If enforcing the ban is not a continual battle, an endless cat-and-mouse game, or a lot of extra work for already overworked teachers, I certainly wouldn't miss having to deal with phones in class. But even if we could get them to disappear, it’s not going to change things that much.”

For Slate (Left bias), a writer asks whether the parents resisting phone bans have a point. “To Oppenheimer, the fact that so many parents are convinced that a phone’s hypothetical utility during such an exceptional scenario would outweigh the damage it causes the rest of the time seems to reflect some combination of denial and magical thinking…In conversation with such parents, I was surprised by how readily most admitted to all this: the harms of smartphones, the relatively low risk of a school shooting, and the limits of their ability to protect their child from one over a phone line…Beyond reassurance and speedy information, parents felt that phones offered them, if not control, at least the opportunity to do something.”