# Should Schools Ban Phones? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 7, 2023, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-schools-ban-phones/985135 "2023-06-07T02:50:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2023, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-schools-ban-phones/985135/41 "2023-06-08T19:13:33Z")
> [@Pixel\_Dent](#): > > The laptop is connected to the internet to allow him to do research and submit assignments. School-issued laptops can also have monitoring software, allowing teachers to see what’s on every screen and to shut down screens that are on off-label websites. I’m all about using tech for teaching, and my students use Google Classrooms and Docs and Sheets, and I’m happy to send them to outside websites for research, and have gotten various sites unblocked because they need (for example) a year’s worth of stats on MLB teams for a statistics assignment. But being in control of the tech helps me, as a teacher, keep them focused, so they’re learning instead of playing games or planning a fight in the bathroom. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2023, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-schools-ban-phones/985135/42 "2023-06-08T20:10:25Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > One reason is that plenty of kids need phones either before or after school and not all schools have lockers or another secure place for a kid to leave a phone during the school day. So phones are kept in a student’s pocket/backpack/or anywhere other than in their hands and face-up. I acknowledge that teachers are asked to do too much. My personal opinion is also that far too much BS behavior by students is tolerated under the guise of mental/emotional/whatever issues. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2023, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-schools-ban-phones/985135/43 "2023-06-08T21:17:42Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Cell phone jammers would seem to defeat the reason parents want their kids to have phones, so that they can always reach them, even in the case of an emergency. If it’s a true emergency then the parents can call the school’s office and the office can go and get the student. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2023, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-schools-ban-phones/985135/44 "2023-06-08T22:02:12Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > Besides, kids are using their phones for good also aren’t they? Like taking notes or audio recordings of the teacher so they can refer back to it later when they’re doing their homework? Thanks for the laugh! I needed that! 😅 ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2023, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-schools-ban-phones/985135/45 "2023-06-08T23:25:02Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > And then there’s just that cell phones are often used as a defense mechanism now. I’ve definitely seen at least a few videos from kids filming a teacher or other kids going off and doing bad stuff, with the video basically the only proof. On the flip side, phones are used just as often to record bullying and post the bullying on social media to further humiliate students. Which seems to be a factor in our rapidly increasing teen suicide rates. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2023, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-schools-ban-phones/985135/46 "2023-06-09T00:02:43Z")
> [@rbroome](#): > > It was. in our school district phones were banned completely from campus until 2014. Then they were required to be in lockers during the school day. Neither had the slightest impact on phone use in school. Teachers were in despair, they spent far too much time policing the policy to no good end. The principals got an earful from the parents who had to come to the office after school to pick up the phones. At board meetings parents would voraciously condemn phones in school until it was their kid in trouble. Then the policy was dangerous and unreasonable. Now we are trying and failing to get the phones kept in the book bags instead of pockets. This is an exellent summary of the problem and issues. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2023, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-schools-ban-phones/985135/47 "2023-06-09T01:11:57Z")
I’m always bemused by the folks complaining that kids these days are socially stunted by their phones. The current generation of children is the most socialized in history. The reason kids are so attached to their phones is precisely because they offer so much more opportunity for socialization than is possible without them, and we, as social animals, crave that. That said, there is a time and place for everything. Most teachers at my school have a hanging rack of numbered pockets in their room, and students are required to put their phones in a pocket when they come in. Their classrooms, their rules, but personally, I disagree. Yes, their phones can be distractions. So can the laptops that they’re required to bring with them to all of their classes. But both can also be used productively. In my room, my rule is just that productive use of devices (any devices) is allowed, and distractive use of any devices isn’t. And I do see productive use made of devices, both computers and phones. And, of course, I also see distractive uses of both-- Students aren’t perfect about following the rules. But I see a lot more distractive use of the required laptops than I do of phones. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.E](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.e/32/8932_2.png) [@Mr.E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.E)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2023, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-schools-ban-phones/985135/48 "2023-06-09T01:30:22Z")
If kids are going to have phones, lean into it. If a kid has a phone in class they have to run an app that connects to the school. It has the student’s schedule. It lets the student signal to the teacher if they have a question or need a bathroom break. It mirrors whatever the teacher is presenting on their screen and records a transcript of the lesson and helps the student keep track of projects and homework. It can do instant quizzes to determine if students are paying attention and learning the material. It can even have student-to-student chat (with no expectation of privacy) and some fidget-toy levels of game built in for the more ADHD students. Also, it records if students navigate away from the app for any reason. I work a manufacturing job where management considers phones a distraction, but if they embraced them in a similar way, even just letting all of us log into our Microsoft Teams account from our phones to quickly share information, they’d see greatly improved efficiency. I think generally it’s a mistake to see phones as purely negative. Embracing them as an additional tool would be better for everyone in the long run. For better or worse, smartphones have become as ubiquitous and necessary for modern life as cars, and just like cars they’ll permanently alter culture in ways both good and bad. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2023, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-schools-ban-phones/985135/49 "2023-06-09T02:02:07Z")
[deleted] ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2023, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-schools-ban-phones/985135/50 "2023-06-09T08:42:04Z")
My work literally still has an official rule on the books that you can’t even have your phone physically on you, your phone needs to either be in your car or in your locker at all times. Nobody follows it, but literally every month when they go through the whole rule spiel for any newbies that everyone is forced to attend, they always bring it up. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2023, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-schools-ban-phones/985135/51 "2023-06-10T23:28:50Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’m always bemused by the folks complaining that kids these days are socially stunted by their phones. I dunno about socially stunted, but there’s a good amount of evidence that they contribute to depression and anxiety, especially in teen girls. I’m not sure if you’re aware how much worse mental health has gotten for adolescents since about 2010, but the statistics are pretty dire. > **[Teen Girls Are Facing a Mental Health Epidemic. We're Doing Nothing About It](https://time.com/6255448/teen-girls-mental-health-epidemic-causes/)** > > A new report from the CDC shows the shocking rates of mental health issues for teen girls. Jean Twenge explains what's causing it > [Teen depression doubled between 2010 and 2019](https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/reports/rpt29393/2019NSDUHFFRPDFWHTML/2019NSDUHFFR1PDFW090120.pdf), well before COVID-19 lockdowns. It then continued to rise during the pandemic years at about the same rate > > Is it just that teens became increasingly comfortable admitting to problems? No: Behaviors linked to depression such as [self-harm, suicide attempts, and deaths by suicide](https://prcp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.prcp.20190015) also increased, especially among girls. For example, the CDC reported in 2017 that [emergency-room admissions for self-harm](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5753998/) among 10- to 14-year-old girls tripled between 2009 and 2015. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2023, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-schools-ban-phones/985135/52 "2023-06-11T00:06:32Z")
There is an enormous difference between meeting friends for coffee and scrolling their social media pages. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2023, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-schools-ban-phones/985135/53 "2023-06-11T00:46:45Z")
Also a big difference between watching random tiktoks or youtubes created by people you don’t care about and will never meet versus txting (or whatever messaging app) your actual IRL friends. Or playing fidgety games. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2023, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-schools-ban-phones/985135/54 "2023-06-11T01:10:10Z")
I think there should be rules about phone use, but they shouldn’t be forbidden. Unfortunately, today having access to a phone could be a life saver. A friend and I were just talking this morning about how years ago we used to make 5-hour and longer car trips all over Texas through some pretty remote areas with no way of making contact. Now my phone is pretty much within arm’s reach. I keep the ringer off a lot, but I live alone and it’s there if I need it. In 2007 I fell in a parking lot and broke my ankle. It was the ONE TIME in years that I didn’t have my phone in me. I had to lie there until some people found me. I know kids are engaged with their phones at a level that I, as an old lady, can’t comprehend. But for the child and the parent to know they can make contact in an emergency is necessary to both parties IMHO. That one time when there is an active shooter, or a car accident, or any other life-threatening situation makes it worthwhile and necessary to find a way to live with phones the rest of the time. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2023, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-schools-ban-phones/985135/55 "2023-06-11T01:30:54Z")
It’s the same story as any technology: It greatly expands the scope of the good that good people can do, and also of the evil that evil people can do. And yes, we need to do more about cyberbullying. But I don’t think that banning phones in schools would help, there: One of the things that makes cyberbullying so insidious is that there’s no “safe place” from it. Teens can bully or be bullied from their own homes. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2023, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-schools-ban-phones/985135/56 "2023-06-11T15:28:34Z")
Policy at my son’s middle school is that phones stay in the locker and any phones out (even in hallways, etc) are subject to confiscation and being kept in the main office. They started out the year more lax but said that repeated issues with distractions, bullying and “inappropriate photos” required strict enforcement. They kept the policy throughout the second half of the year so I don’t think there was some massive tide of parent rebellion. Not enough to change policy anyway. I’m fine with the policy. The odds of my son having some shitty photo taken of him and passed around as a meme and bullied is much, much greater than the chance of him needing a phone in some school-based emergency. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2023, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-schools-ban-phones/985135/57 "2023-06-11T15:32:00Z")
I would think better education should trump the concerns of a dozen parents, if these concerns can be dealt with reasonably in other ways. But I don’t claim any knowledge of the subject or difficulties ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2023, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-schools-ban-phones/985135/58 "2023-06-11T15:52:17Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > **The odds of** my son having some shitty photo taken of him and passed around as a meme and bullied is much, much greater than **the chance of** him needing a phone in some school-based emergency. My bold. The trouble with thinking of it in terms of “odds” and “chances” is that the One Time that turns out to be the exception could well be a matter of life and death. If there is an immense tragedy (and the “odds” of that happening are by no means zero), will you look back on this decision and be able to live with the outcome? I KNOW we can’t think along these lines about EVERY possible safety precaution, so y’all, please don’t bombard me with gratuitous counter-examples. Just sayin’. Also, I’m not keen on the idea of a $1,000 phone left in a locker all day protected only by a dial-up lock. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2023, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-schools-ban-phones/985135/59 "2023-06-11T15:54:47Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Also, I’m not keen on the idea of a $1,000 phone left in a locker all day protected only by a dial-up lock. It’s a lot more secure there than being carried around by a teenager. Seriously, for as attached as teens are to their phones, you’d be amazed how careless they are with them. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2023, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-schools-ban-phones/985135/60 "2023-06-11T15:59:50Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > If there is an immense tragedy (and the “odds” of that happening are by no means zero), will you look back on this decision and be able to live with the outcome? I mean, probably. If the counter-example is people bullying my kid and making his life hell but “Yeah, but what if one day…” It’s not only the narrow odds of a tragedy, it’s the odds of a tragedy where having a phone in hand would make any difference (and, technically, my knowledge that him having a phone in hand would have made a difference). Balanced against the much more real odds of phones being used to make the school day shittier and less productive, I’m accepting of the risk. > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Also, I’m not keen on the idea of a $1,000 phone left in a locker all day protected only by a dial-up lock. Don’t give 14 year olds $1,000 portable electronics would be my solution. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-schools-ban-phones/985135.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-schools-ban-phones/985135.md?page=4)