Common Pushbacks

Studies have shown that students who use social media are at a higher risk of depression. Access to smartphones, texts, and social media magnifies the issues of inclusion and acceptance, - most students grapple with during the day. Face-to-face time with friends and classmates counteracts the isolating, depressive feelings that come up when looking at a screen.  See more studies on the social-emotional effects cell phones have on teens.

The reality is that when solid systems are in place schools are not overburdened. We’ve heard from dozens of schools who have changed their policies to be clear and direct and there seems to be little pushback. One principal said she implemented an "Away For The Day" policy with clear consequences but told the students that for the 1st month, they would simply get a warning, and then once they were more used to the new rules, the consequences would set in. Habit building takes time and this is a nice way to ease into a new policy.

In an NPR story, a security expert explains why each student having a phone in a lockdown is not great:

Ken Trump, the security expert, says phones can actually make us less safe in a crisis such as the one in Parkland. He ticks off several reasons:

1. Using phones can distract people from the actions they need to be taking in the moment, such as running, hiding, and listening to directions from first responders.
2. The sound of the phone, whether ringing or on vibrate, could alert an assailant to a hiding place.
3. The shooter or shooters could be monitoring the event themselves on social media and find more victims or elude capture that way.
4. Victims and worried family members trying to get through can jam communications, interfering with first responders.

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It is better to let them use a computer than to have a phone because the apps and notifications on the phone are constant distractions. Also, non-sanctioned screen time on phones is much easier to sneak inthan doing so on a computer.  Studies show that kids’ academic performance actually goes down with the mere presence of a phone in class.

We know that the control center for impulse control, the frontal lobe, is not fully developed in school-aged children. When we say “kids just need to learn how to handle phone use in places like classrooms,” we are setting many kids up for failure. We will help them more by giving them self-control challenges in which they can succeed.

Our data shows this is not the case. More than 80% of parents do not want their kids to use cellphones during school. When parents help their kids plan their days without text messages, they help them develop valuable executive-functioning skills.

When kids who are struggling with being social are allowed to retreat into their device between classes, they never get the ability to work on their communication skills.