Schools Need to Ban Smartphones

This is a no-brainer. And it doesn't require a $4.5bn lawsuit to do.

Public Domain/Pexels

“Should students be banned from using their phones in school?” Much to my delight, this was the question being discussed on Canada’s national radio yesterday. I called in, but unfortunately didn’t make it to air before the program ended. Listening to other callers, though, it’s clear the consensus is a resounding, “Yes!” Schools and phones do not mix.

It’s a hot topic these days. Four of Ontario’s biggest school boards just launched a $4.5-billion lawsuit against Facebook, Snapchat, and TikTok, claiming that social media companies have rewired the way children learn, behave, and think. The lawsuit claims that these platforms, designed for compulsive use, are at the root of a learning and mental health epidemic, and that schools are “unfairly bearing the brunt” of this fallout.

I knew this was coming, since the law firm representing the school boards reached out to me last fall to offer expert input. I’m all for taking a top-down approach to combating the issue that social media (and smartphones) have become in schools, using legislation to hold tech companies accountable for the damaging architecture of their products and the way they’ve disseminated it knowingly, aware of the harms it poses to developing minds. We absolutely need a higher minimum age for social media sign-ups (ideally, age 16), as well as age verification.

But we also need an approach that starts on the ground, and this is where I can’t help but feel like Ontario’s school boards are passing the buck. They’re outsourcing blame to tech companies without turning the spotlight on themselves. There is so much that schools could do to deal with this issue and solve a big part of the problem. It would cost next to nothing (certainly not $4.5bn!) and could be implemented immediately—but they’re not doing it.

Most schools claim to have phone policies in place, but these are an absolute joke. They’re toothless, inconsistent, and often left up to teachers’ discretion. But these teachers are burnt out from the incessant phone battle, so often they give up. The kids win, but really, they lose.

Why Don’t Schools Take Action?

I see a few reasons. First, parents would protest. Many parents believe they should be able to contact their children at any point throughout the day; never mind the fact that it erodes kids’ ability to focus in class and is hugely disrespectful to the teacher. I’ve heard about kids even taking calls in class and ignoring the teacher’s request to hang up.

Students would push back initially, too, but I think many would ultimately appreciate an imposed six-hour break from scrolling, as long as everyone else was offline, too. Many teens say they wish they could get off social media, but feel they can’t because everyone’s on it.

Schools would have to weather the inevitable and uncomfortable “comedown” that occurs when kids are wrenched away from their digital drug. “Phones keep the kids calm,” as one principal said in Bad Therapy: Why the Kids Aren’t Growing Up. Take away the devices and interactions will become more embodied, physical, loud, emotional, and real. But that’s exactly what we need.

Why Are Phones a Bad Idea in Schools?

Public Domain/Pexels

There are so many reasons. Here are just a few. The heaviest phone users have the lowest GPAs. The mere proximity of a phone correlates with worse test outcomes, even if it’s hidden from sight. Students struggle to focus on the teacher, to listen for the duration of a full class, to go deep into work, to engage in real creative thinking.

We know multitasking is not truly possible, and yet one kid told me that half his class spends the entire day with one AirPod in, watching TikTok videos and listening to music, while, presumably, “learning” at the same time. We wouldn’t let kids bring personal TVs into the classroom and watch them quietly at the back of the classroom; why do we allow this?

Some teachers make the mistake of trying to “meet kids where they’re at,” incorporating phones into lessons. But any boost in engagement is eroded by the inevitable distraction. Surely, we adults understand this: How many times do you pick up your phone intending to do one thing, and then immediately end up doing another, forgetting what the original purpose was?

Using phones for lessons has the added implication of singling out those (few) kids who don’t have them. Getting rid of phones in schools would level the field between the haves and have-nots, though in this case I use the word not to refer to socio-economic status, but rather phone ownership—and I do believe that the have-nots, in this case, are better off. Worse yet, just seeing other kids on their phones makes it harder for kids who are not on phones to focus on their schoolwork.

Cyberbullying is on the rise. Group chats allow large numbers of kids to share incriminating and embarrassing information about other students in order to shame them publicly. Bullied students can’t escape anymore; phones allow the nastiness to follow them home at the end of the day. Rates of empathy are plummeting, not surprisingly. It is so much easier to be cruel online than in person, where you don’t have to face someone and see firsthand the pain you’ve inflicted. It is easy to objectify people online, forgetting that a real person lives behind their social media handle.

Reports of friendlessness and loneliness have surged in recent years. “Phubbing” (a portmanteau of phone snubbing) is common—when a student whips out a phone to avoid talking to the people around them. (Adults do this, too.) It’s no wonder kids struggle to make friends; they have no one to talk to because everyone is forever elsewhere.

One caller to CBC Radio raised another critical point, that having phones in the classroom leads to constant non-consensual filming of students by other students. My teenage son immediately said, “Oh yeah, that’s called ‘getting clipped.’ It happens all the time.”

Beyond the obvious violation of privacy, this would change the way kids act, causing some to self-censor or act less silly or playful than they might otherwise. Kids in middle and high school are naturally goofy and awkward. They make mistakes all the time—and they learn from those mistakes. To create an environment where errors are recorded for posterity and/or future possible punishment is to rob children of a sense of safety and protection during a natural developmental stage. It’s awful to do that to kids.

What Can Schools Do?

Implement a ban. Ask parents not to send phones with kids to school. If they do, confiscate those phones and put them in lockers or pouches until the end of the day. Do not return them during lunch, or else you’ll undermine potential for social connections. If every student is expected to hand over their device, it will become normalized.

The few schools that have real, firm bans report improved student culture, better academic performance and focus, and better social connections among students. Teachers finally get the attentive audience they deserve.

Schools can urge families to hold off giving smartphones by issuing periodic memos. Prof. Jean Twenge recommends waiting till 16, or whenever you’re old enough to get a driver’s license. Use flip phones instead. Encourage parents not to let kids sign up for social media until 16, either. There is power in simply issuing a statement of recommendation. Families will feel empowered, knowing that the school stands behind them and that others are doing the same.

To be clear, no one is banning kids from the Internet. The Internet is wonderful in many ways. But there’s a big issue with the portability of social media apps on smartphones, and the fact that they’re being carried around in kids’ pockets, accessible every minute of the day. That’s when problems arise.

If schools are serious about protecting kids’ well-being and regaining control over an education system that is being eroded by smartphones in the classroom, they could ban them today at next to no cost, aside from whatever it costs to buy some locked phone pouches. And they wouldn’t have to wait months to meet tech giants in court.

This is a no-brainer. Get phones out of schools now if we care about kids’ safety, happiness, and success in life.

You Might Also Like:

Your Kid Doesn’t Need a Smartphone to Be Safe
’Oppenheimer’ Composer Thanked Parents for Giving Him Guitars, Not Video Games
It’s the Adults, Not the Kids

In Other News:

I was on Global BC-Vancouver on March 29 and on The Morning Show-Toronto on April 1 to talk about the Ontario school board lawsuit against social media companies. Hopefully some of you readers caught those interviews! I’ll provide links once I have them.

If you enjoy reading The Analog Family, please share these posts with friends, family, and acquaintances! As always, you can show your support by pledging payment, buying my book, or hiring me to talk to your school or community group. Check out my website for more info.