As a baby boomer, I see the world differently than my children and grandchildren, especially regarding the importance of cell phone usage. When I was a kid, we played outside, walked to school, visited friends, and attended school activities without constant contact with our parents. It gave us self-confidence, which helped us face new challenges as part of daily life. Phone-free schools were the norm.
We knew we had to make moment-by-moment decisions and there was never even the concept of “phone a friend” to help us decide every little choice we made. My grandkids are seldom given that option.
There are advantages and disadvantages to immediate access. It is reassuring for parents to know they can reach their child anytime. However, research shows that the reassurance parents enjoy limits the self-assurance that this continual supervision denies their kids.
But let’s narrow our discussion to cellphone use during the school day when our kids are supervised and we know where they are. If you want to learn more about how phones affect this generation of children, I highly recommend The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt. It explains and demonstrates (with all the facts and research) why this generation of students is seeing such alarming emotional issues. Depression and anxiety (especially in girls) are off the charts.
Research shows that removing access to cell phones during the school day has many more advantages than disadvantages.
What are the advantages of a phone-free school?
Reducing distractions:
Most of us can attest that cell phones are distracting and addictive. Their presence can make it more challenging to focus on the task at hand and inhibit learning. Students can and do hide their phones in their pockets and use them to text, post, and surf while they are supposed to be paying attention to what is being taught. The very proximity of a mobile device can be distracting as it leads to multitasking (or task switching).
Improving academic performance:
Removing phones from schools is improving test scores. It is thought that without the distraction that undermines students’ ability to concentrate, they can focus and retain more information. As mentioned above, distraction from constant notifications, social media updates, and the addictive pull of the device leads to decreased productivity, less concentration, and lower academic performance.
Improving critical thinking skills:
Relying on immediate feedback from technology impacts our critical thinking skills and can negatively impact our cognitive abilities. This also leads to shorter attention spans, reducing our capacity to analyze, solve problems, and think critically. This also leads to a decline in our long-term information retention. It proves the saying, “use it or lose it,” when it comes to our brains.
Reducing stress and anxiety:
Many studies have begun to affirm that cell phones are often a source of stress and anxiety for students. One three-year study (NIH) found that adolescents using cell phones were a significant predictor of depression in emerging young adults. In adults, it is associated with depression, anxiety, and loneliness. The higher the cell phone usage, the higher the stress levels. Excessive use was even associated with OCD behaviors and ADHD symptoms. Several studies show relationships to anxiety, depression, and mood disorders.
Reduced cheating:
As all teachers already know, cell phones can be used to cheat during exams and assignments by sending text messages, searching the Internet, or hiding notes.
While these are just a few of the negative impacts of cell phones during the school day, policymakers, Superintendents, and school boards can reduce the negative effects on students when schools create technology-free zones and promote digital literacy programs. Will your school or district become one of those that will impact your students positively?
For example, students who are not given phone access during lunchtime and other downtimes (between classes, for example), have more face-to-face interactions, thus enhancing their social skills and reducing their feelings of isolation or exclusion. With the current rates of teen depression and anxiety, this is becoming more and more critical.
Are you worried that you alone would be acting impulsively if you were to support a phone-free school environment in your school? Jonathan Haidt shares two surveys that recently came out that may encourage you.
Survey results to remove cell phones in schools
The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) and the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) released a survey of over 500 administrators. This national survey reveals that 42% believe smartphones and social media are the major contributors to deteriorating student mental health, while only 1% think that these concerns are “overblown…and the kids are alright.” 85% felt that the positive impacts of smartphones and social media are rare. The majority surveyed supported a phone ban within schools during the school day.
Another survey by the National Education Association (NEA) shows that three out of four teachers believe social media use is a serious problem within their schools and that cell phones are highly disruptive during class time. Ninety percent of teachers support a school-wide policy banning cell phones. Most of these teachers didn’t want to see such policies left to the individual teachers either, but to be school-wide.
It is easy to say that this issue belongs to parents alone, but the reality is that isolation and peer pressure cannot be overcome unless all parents follow the same standards. Schools are in an ideal position to create a more positive, enriching environment, if only for seven hours a day. For the sake of our children and our students, do the research, and once you have, put processes in place to go phone-free during the school day!
The kids are NOT okay
For a more personal anecdote, I was at a conference for educators a few weeks ago and ended up at a table with several strangers. One of whom had a teenage daughter with him. When it came to ordering, I noticed that the girl could not make eye contact with the waiter and whispered to her father across the table to order for her. She was 16 years old, obviously in significant discomfort at the thought of talking to or making eye contact with the wait staff, and was not able to look up from the table. Once the orders were placed, she immediately picked up her phone and was head down through the rest of the meal. It broke my heart.
Unfortunately, I see this type of crippling anxiety and a lack of social confidence as a normal part of life for this younger generation. But should we shrug our shoulders and let it happen? I certainly hope not. Not for the sake of these children who need our help to succeed in society and life.
For more information and a complete guide to becoming a phone-free school, check out this Complete Guide to Going Phone Free.
Or, download the School Administrators Phone-Free Toolkit and join the movement to help our students achieve their highest emotional and social potential!
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