For example, making students put them away during crucial instructional time allows students to actually pay attention, participate, and learn during class time. However, I am not in favor of banning cell phones in school entirely. They are an essential item that students should have access to in the case of an emergency, especially in today’s world that is filled with constant threats and shootings in schools. 

Phones allow students to contact the outside world, specifically family and other loved ones. Fully banning them from schools is not a good idea and it shouldn’t happen. In this article, I will be covering the history of cell phone restricting and banning, different types of restrictions that are being implemented, legislation for the restrictions from multiple countries and states in the United States of America, false claims that many legislators make to prove why banning cell phones entirely is in the best interest and so much more. 

There have always been restrictions on phones inside of schools ever since cell phones first started to become more accessible, affordable and popular. In the earlier stages of cell phones, social media was still a thing, but it wasn’t accessible through cell phones. Teachers were more worried about students texting and calling inside of class. There were things, like phone bins and rules about keeping cell phones in lockers, only that teachers implemented to try and prevent students from distracting themselves on their devices during instructional time. 

In 1989, Maryland became the first state to enact a ban on cell phones and pagers inside of schools. Many other states were looking to follow. However, following the events like the Columbine High School shooting in 1999 and the September 11th attacks in 2001, many schools across the nation reversed their policies to allow students to contact their families if an event like that was to take place. Now that we have reached the age of social media, the concerns of the distractions that phones bring into the classroom are higher than ever. 

There are a multitude of different types of bans that are being enacted all around the world. 

• There are total bans, which is where cell phones and other electronic devices that are distributed through the school are banned from campus.
• There have been bell-to-bell bans where devices that aren’t distributed by the school district are permitted to be on campus, but are not allowed to be out from the time that the first bell rings to when the last bell rings. This can be achieved by having students keep their devices in lockable pouches, in their lockers or inside their backpacks. There have also been schools who simply hand the device to a teacher or an administrator. 
• Districts have been banning cell phones from their schools that have students of lower ages, like their elementary and middle schools. Then with the high school, they won’t enforce a total ban, but maybe some restrictions. Like an “off, off and away” policy, similar to what Shaler Area High School has in place as of right now. 
• There have been partial bans, meaning that devices are permitted only during non-instructional time at school. This includes lunch and study halls. 
• Teachers in a lot of schools make the decision on cell phones in their classroom. 

A lot of these different types work hand in hand and can coexist with one another. 

France started banning mobile phones in schools in 2018. The bans were implemented across primary and middle schools to aim to reduce distractions, improve student’s academic performances and encourage more social interaction among students. The country found that it was fairly successful and now over 70 countries have started following. Some countries have been going a little more extensive, like Australia that just recently banned social media for children under the age of 16. 

In the United States, in May of 2023, Florida passed its first bill to enact statewide restrictions in schools during instructional time. After it was passed in May, it began being enforced in July. The initial law was that students would be prohibited from using cell phones during class time unless the teacher decides otherwise in their classroom. There were changes done that made it so elementary and middle schools in the state from using cell phones during the entirety of the school day, which is called a grade level ban. Other states have followed and implemented similar legislation and as of right now, there are approximately 26 states that have some form of a ban enacted.

Pennsylvania is looking to join them. For example, Pennsylvanian lawmakers like Congressman Chris Deluzio, have been discussing bills and ways to restrict cell phones during instructional time in schools. Other politicians, like Senator Devlin Robinson are in full support of Senate Bill 1014, with co-sponsors Senator Vincent Hudges and Senator Steven Santarsiero. The bill has a memo named “Phone-Free Schools”. It would require all day, “bell-to-bell” type bans in public schools across the state of Pennsylvania. There would be exceptions for students with learning disabilities, medical issues, etc. 

On Senator Devlin Robinson’s website, there is tons of research stated that help back up his claims. Some of them include the following. 

• 45% of teens reported feeling overwhelmed by the drama on social media and 26% reported feeling worse about their own lives. (Pew Research Center, 2018)
• Nearly half of teens in the United States reported experiencing cyber bullying at least once. (Pew Research Center, 2022)
• There has been a steep decline in the mental health of children since the earlier 2010s→ Rates of depression among teens increased 150% (American Psychological Association, 2018) and suicide rates for kids 10-14 tripled between 2007 and 2021 (Center for Disease Control, 2023)
• Many studies are showing how since the COVID-19 Pandemic, there has been a significant decrease in students’ test scores in reading and math on standardized tests. 

All of this research on his website is used to support his claim that cell phones and social media don’t belong in schools because they are vessels for distractions, mental health issues and issues with academic performances. 

Like I stated in the beginning of this article, I’m in full support of limiting cell phone usage in schools. I actually think that it is a great idea. They serve as a distraction during instructional time and often, students are missing out on a meaningful educational experience because they are distracted by a screen. I have seen it in so many of my classes over the years, and it is only getting worse. Notice how I said limiting, not fully banning. As much as they can be a distraction, I think that cell phones can serve as a positive during the school day as well. I do not support locking up students’ cell phones. What I also don’t support is when people, like Senator Devlin Robinson, take studies about students out of context just to support their argument of legislation. 

The one study pulled on Robinson’s website, from the American Psychological Association in 2018, about the rates of depression among teens increasing by 150% since the 2010s. The other study pulled also talks about an increase in suicide rates among teens. These are listed as reasons for banning cell phones in schools. This is where I get frustrated. Why are we pulling these statistics and then blaming the numbers and the issue entirely on teenagers using cell phones too much? Of course the mental health of teens is getting worse, people don’t actually listen to what teens are experiencing and feeling, instead they blame social media and cell phones instead of trying to help teens figure out what the actual problem is. 

Teenagers with mental health issues aren’t being listened to. I have talked with so many of my friends and fellow classmates, with so many of them saying that they don’t feel supported or listened to when they express themselves. There have been so many times where I have tried to express how I was feeling to a parent, even a counselor, where I felt like my feelings were being tossed aside. We have all heard the same phrase so many times, “It’s because of that phone.” That’s not the only reason, and this isn’t just my opinion, it is a fact. This is information from an article by the American Psychological Association, “U.S. teens need far more emotional and social support.”

“Social support is sorely lacking for many U.S. teens. Only 58.5% of U.S. teens always or usually receive the social and emotional support they need, according to a report by researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report drew on National Health Interview Survey and National Health Interview Survey-Teen data collected from parents and adolescents in 2021 and 2022. While almost 2 in 5 teens said they were not getting the support they needed, a whopping 93.1% of parents believed otherwise, reporting their child received adequate social and emotional support. Unfortunately, what parents don’t know might hurt them. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey also found that lack of social support was associated with worse mental and physical health. Teens who reported not having support they needed also reported worse health and sleep and were more likely to report anxiety, depression and low life satisfaction.”  

The American Psychological Association also stated, “Today’s adolescents are wrestling with challenges that their parents’ and grandparents’ generations did not face, including frequent school shootings, worsening threats of climate change and the aftermath of COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns and learning disruptions.” 

And I will not deny that social media is a cause for an increase in depression and anxiety due to cyberbullying, fake news, the promotion of unrealistic lifestyles and so much more. That is true. A study done in 2018 by the Pew Research Center stated that 59% of teens in the United States have experienced bullying or harassment online. Cyberbullying is an extreme issue in our society today, thousands of teenagers suffering from it every year. Not only does social media help with the rise of cyberbullying, it also increases the promotion of unrealistic expectations and standards. Impossible beauty standards, trends and so more. There are so many filters and ways to edit a photo or a video to make things look perfect, like makeup, hair, clothes etc. Teens seeing these images across social media platforms might begin to feel insecure about their own appearance or own lives based on what they are seeing on social media. There is also the issue with artificial intelligence on social media. It can be used to create false images and videos, deepfakes and false news that can be harmful to teen’s development and lives. 

But notice how I said “a cause”, not the only cause. People who blame the increase of mental health issues entirely on the rising age of social media have never actually spoken to a teenager that has experienced it. Yes, social media can be a stressor and personally, I do feel sometimes stressed out by social media. It is rarely in the way that most people think. I feel more stressed out about all of the things going on in the world that I see through the lens of social media. I am constantly seeing people in the political world at each other’s throats instead of working together. I am constantly getting reminders of how fortunate my life is when I see how much others suffer around the world through videos. 

I am stressed out because I don’t know what the world is going to look like when I have to start my own life, not because of issues on social media. 

I understand why people would want to ban cell phones in schools because of social media maybe causing mental health issues, but again can we stop blaming the entire teenage mental health epidemic on cell phones? Teens are depressed because they don’t know what the future holds for them. We don’t know whether or not we are going to be able to afford to live a good life when we graduate. We see that the world that is being left for us is close to being ruined forever due to almost irreversible climate issues and so much more. You can’t say that we are only depressed because of cell phones. The world is a very depressing place at times. I cannot stress this enough, teenagers aren’t depressed solely because we are on social media, there are so many other factors that go into it. It is unfair to us to ignore all of the other factors, blame cell phones and then ignore the issue. 

There are also just personal causes for mental illnesses. There are family, friend, and relationship issues. Trauma, loss, social pressures. Genetics and biology also play a part in contributing to teen mental health. Family history of mental illness, imbalances in brain chemical and hormonal changes during puberty can increase the risk. 

So stop trying to push banning cell phones entirely in schools, saying that they are destroying teens’ mental health. I am sick and tired of it. Don’t take that study out of context just to support your claim. You should take into consideration all of the causes of a decrease in teens’ mental health and do more to try and help students get better, instead of just locking up our phones. 

Banning cell phones in schools could also be an extreme safety issue. School shootings have been becoming a more and more concerning issue in recent years. There have now been 389 mass shootings in the United States, as of December 13th. Dating back to 2019, there have been more mass shootings than total days in the year, every single year. It is absolutely insane to me that people can look at numbers like that, look at all of the people that are suffering from school shootings and say that phones are the things that don’t belong in schools. You know what really doesn’t belong in schools, guns. Gun violence legislation and restrictions is an issue itself, it is so easy for really anyone to access a gun. My biggest problem with getting rid of phones on school campuses is safety. What if, there was something like a school shooting to take place and students never get to contact their families, leaving them not knowing if their child is safe or not. 

Some schools express that there would be a way for students to contact family and friends in the unfortunate event of a school shooting, like a landline. This method is mostly seen in schools that are using the Yondr pouches, which lock the phones for the entirety of the school day. They express that there would be multiple points throughout the building that would allow students to unlock the pouch in case of an emergency. I just think that that is stupid. What if the students aren’t fast enough and something happens before or while they are trying to get to that point. What if they never get a chance to say goodbye. Forgive me for sounding graphic, but I’m not just making up that possible situation. It is a very real possibility that has happened. There are times where something happens that puts students in a harmful situation and some never get the opportunity to inform their loved ones what is going on or saying goodbye. 

So to close things off, I support restricting cell phone usage in school, not fully banning it. I support people who say that one of the reasons for restricting cell phone usage in school is teens’ mental health. I do not support people who say that cell phones are the only reason why teens are feeling more and more depressed. Banning cell phones entirely from schools are going to create more harm than good for students. It could put them in harm’s way, which is something that should never happen in a school.