'It's Like a Fix': As Students Struggle with Cellphone Addictions, More Schools Are Cracking Down

Experts agree that young people across America are in a mental health crisis. Some point the finger at incessant cell phone presence and anxiety-inducing social media usage. In response, more and more states are trying to get these addictive devices out of children's hands during school hours.

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin recently ordered public schools across the state to go cell phone-free by January 2025 to "promote a healthier and more focused educational environment."

A study by Common Sense Media found 97% of teens use their phones during school hours. Similarly, Pew Research Center reports 72% of high school teachers say that students being distracted by cell phones is a major problem in their classroom. The teachers say during instruction time they observe students doing things like watching movies on Netflix, gambling online, and responding to social media.

Mitchell J. Prinstein, PhD, Chief Science Officer with the American Psychological Association, told CBN News a student's access to social media during class impedes their ability to achieve academically. 

"Giving kids access to something where they can have 24/7 interaction with their peers is kind of the worst thing we want to do, especially if it's distracting them from schoolwork," he said. 

"We do know that kids are not getting as much in-person, face-to-face, eye-to-eye contact as we want them to get these days for healthy development. So taking them out of school may be helpful, but perhaps most immediately we have to get them out of the classrooms during instructional time," Prinstein said.

He explained a child's brain doesn't fully develop until their twenties. Until then, young people have less impulse control than they will later in life, something made especially difficult when faced with addictive online activities like social media. 

"Based on the science, we know that there's no such thing as multitasking," he said. "We all engage in task shifting, so having a phone in the class requires a lot of task shifting, which kids are not able to do as well as adults." 

Last year, Florida became the first state to ban cell phones at school. Indiana and Ohio passed similar legislation. Oklahoma, Vermont, Kansas, Utah and New York may follow suit. However, while more states push restrictions, many individual schools already have cell phone bans in place.  According to a National Center for Education Statistics survey, 77% of schools ban cell phones in the classroom. However, that figure may be misleading because it doesn't address whether the students comply with the ban or whether the ban is enforced.

Melissa Henson, Vice President of Program at Parents Television and Media, told CBN News it's often easy for kids to hide their cell phone use at school or for teachers to look the other way when they see it happening. 

"I think what's going to be critical for the success of this program is that there's consistency," she said. "For example, in some school districts, it's, first time you get caught with a cell phone when you're not supposed to have one, you get a warning and a call home. But the second time we confiscate your device." 

Some schools are divided about how to restrict phone use. One idea involves students putting their phones in a container by the door when they enter the classroom and picking it up when they leave.  Others rely more heavily on the honor system, such as telling students to keep their phone in their book bag, pocket, or locker.  

Another point of contention surrounds whether students should surrender their phones only during class but have them in between classes, at lunch and during other free times, or whether they should give up their phone the entire day.

Mileva Repasky, co-founder of Phone-Free Schools Movement, a nonprofit organization that provides toolkits to schools to help them form and implement an effective cell phone-free school policy, told CBN News they advocate an all-day, "bell-to-bell" ban and that a student's phone should not even be accessible to them.

"If students know that they can go to their lockers in passing periods or they know that they have that time, it's like a fix," she explained. "They want to quickly look and see all of the notifications that they're getting on their phone, and it just feeds into that addiction and the inability to use those passing period times to form your friendships, have those conversations, problem solve, engage with other people."

Some parents don't like the idea of their children not having their phones with them at all times because they worry about being unable to contact their children during school hours in the event of an emergency such as a school shooting.  

However, Repasky says in that scenario, it's actually better if the students are cell phone-free.

"When they're on their phones, they're not listening to the instructions that are put out by their teachers. Some students might actually be recording what's going on, and that means the assailant that is in the building might have the ability of seeing where they are," she said. "Constant notifications and dings that are coming through from family trying to check on their student might alert the assailant to where they are. And also it jams emergency signal."

So while more schools attempt to restrict cell phone use among students at school, not everyone agrees on the best way to do that.