Student voice: Should phones be banned from classrooms?
Yes
by Michael Stokes
Cell phones are a key component of everyday life. They are ubiquitous with developed society, and can offer many benefits, such as communication or functionality. However, cell phones provide more negatives than benefits in the classroom, and should therefore be restricted.
Although cell phones present a rare tool to students in their ability to rapidly communicate, an invaluable tool that often helps not hinders, this tool also introduces a major obstacle to learning: demand for attention. In How to Break Up With Your Phone, Catherine Price details how phones have been constructed to consume attention, and consequently, cash. As she states in the chapter, “We become convinced that the only way to protect ourselves is to constantly check our phones to make sure that we’re not missing something.”
This means that enabling students to use their phones in the classroom will undeniably result in inattention and distraction. Instead of completing an essay about cellular devices in an educational setting, someone might browse the latest NFL news to see if a particular Patriots quarterback has signed a deal.
Humans are relational, social creatures, and this means that one will never want to miss out on something. To hand this tool right to students can be seen as implicit encouragement to partake in the distracting noise that emits from the device. This distraction will result in inattention to class, leading to worse levels of education, damaging a student’s possible career and life options later on down the road. This tool needs to be limited and restricted to discourage this from happening.
Another reason why cell phones need to be restricted in an educational setting is because they reduce cognitive awareness. In the article Brain Drain: The mere presence of a smartphone reduces cognitive capacity Adrian Ward speaks on the detrimental effects of smartphones, the most common form of a cellular device. In the conducted experiment, it was found that even when people are successful at maintaining sustained attention—as when avoiding the temptation to check their phones—the mere presence of these devices reduces available cognitive capacity.” This means that the distraction that cell phones offer is not just about tempting a student to idle on one in class, it is so strong that the subconscious thought of its presence can distract from study.
The only way to stop the unconscious itch is to remove the conscious abrasive.
Removing cell phones from the classroom will further enable students to concentrate. Many high schools offer rigorous AP, IB, or Honors classes, meant to challenge and push the student as much as possible. As much cognitive awareness as possible is needed to maintain a good balance in these classes, and high school in general. Removing cell phones will increase cognitive awareness, benefiting student’s attention and education in the long run.
Teenagers are already presented with a variety of problems and issues to deal with, from academic excellence to extracurricular prowess, along with a host of personal issues, be it familial or relational. Both “liking others’ content and clicking links significantly predicted a subsequent reduction in self-reported physical health, mental health, and life satisfaction,” according to Price.
Social media is set up like a grading system anyone can supposedly excel with. Post something funny, pretty, or cute, and get likes - nonverbal approval from society. Humans naturally seek approval from the society they find themselves a part of, and the lack of this approval can increase levels of loneliness and detrimental mental health effects.
Introducing this ability for students to access a stream of content meant to manipulate and distract from school, as well as damage mental health in the classroom is not wise. Lower levels of self-esteem are a hindrance to progress and education, and this is made readily available by cell phones. This is why they should not be allowed in the classroom setting.
Cell phones can damage mental health, and should not be allowed in the classroom.
No
by Amaia Horyna
The struggle between well-intentioned adults and screen-infatuated teenagers has been one of complication, frustration, and confusion. Allowing cell phones in schools without restriction has proven to be a distraction for students, but banning them entirely has also produced unforeseen consequences.
Administrators must find a happy medium between these two extremes if they want to accomplish a successful cell phone policy at Judge Memorial.
Banning cell phones altogether has been unsuccessful in schools for a number of reasons. Cell phones have become a parent’s primary method of communication with their child and neither the parents nor the students are comfortable with that line of communication being taken away, which causes tension and frustration among students and their families. It eases the minds of both parents and students knowing that your loved one is just one text away.
According to Neil Selwyn in the article Banning Cell Phones in Schools: Here’s what the evidence says, the social dangers of social media and constant communication can be concerning as cyberbullying rates have increased in recent years. Theoretically, cyberbullying could decrease as a result of students engaging less with their cell phones, however, research suggests that there is a substantial amount of overlap between cyberbullying and traditional bullying that taking away devices would not solve. Instead of banning cell phones, it would be far more beneficial for teachers to attack the root of bullying not the method of it.
Perhaps the most compelling reason why complete cell phone bans are ineffective is the reality of the role cell phones play in the modern world. Cell phones are no longer a luxury in today’s society, they are a necessity. If students go on to higher education or into the workforce without having been taught how to be productive in the presence of their cell phone, it will be extremely detrimental to that student’s success.
Outright bans of cell phones cannot teach students how to have a healthy relationship with their devices, which is something students should be taught early on.
On the other hand, having little to no regulation of cell phones is equally injurious. As shown in Adrain Ward’s scholarly article, Brain Drain: The mere presence of a smartphone reduces cognitive capacity the mere awareness of the presence of cell phones can negatively influence a person’s ability to concentrate and retain information. Based on this evidence, it would be beneficial for students to keep cell phones in a separate area, perhaps their lockers, during class.
Cell phones are an addiction that impacts all users. Researchers have discovered that cell phones have hooked our brains on a very addicting hormone: dopamine. Like any addict, students will inevitably go through withdrawals, which is why there should be a balance between restriction of cell phone use in schools and complete freedom.
Completely banning cell phones is equally as destructive as allowing them to be used without restraint in this respect. Students should be made aware of the negative impacts cell phone usage has on the brain in a way that also provides them with resources to develop a healthy relationship with their device.
A compromise must be reached.
A possible plan could be to require students to keep their phones in their lockers during class times unless otherwise specified by their teachers. Students should be able to check their phones during breaks and at lunch to ensure that family and friends can contact them during the school day should there be an emergency. This also ensures that students learn time-management skills in the presence of their smartphones, a skill that they will need after graduation.
Coupled with informational classes about the healthy use of phones, students can learn about and experience the positive consequences of being on their phones less. This method of experiential learning will make students value such lessons more as they will likely experience the benefits of limited screentime while also having the skill to engage with their devices responsibly.
Implementing a school-wide ban is not the solution to the problem of cell phone addiction. Instead of banning phones, teachers and administrators should attempt to teach students how to appropriately interact with their phones inside and outside the classroom as the use of cell phones in the modern world and beyond school is a reality that cannot be neglected. It is best to find a balance between the two extremes rather than to allow complete freedom or complete lack thereof.
A compromise similar to the one I proposed would not only be effective, but it would please all parties involved.
