Your Kid’s Phone Is the New Class Clown
It’s Time to Get Smartphones Out of the Classroom for Good
I remember when Facebook launched—not the one your grandma uses to share good morning gifs now, but the exclusive, invite-only club where clout was currency. I wanted in. Badly. My mom? She didn’t get it. Thought it was dumb. Couldn’t understand why I cared so much about a website.
In my teenage wisdom, I knew she was hopelessly out of touch. How could anything that connected me with my friends, with the world, be a bad thing? But now, as I watch younger generations glued to their screens, drowning in an endless flood of notifications, I'm thinking mother dearest might have been onto something.
So, at the risk of being labeled an out-of-touch fogey, I’m calling it: We need to rethink phones in classrooms—maybe even ban them completely.
The (Phone) Case for a Change
Now, before you dismiss me as the senile old man who shouts 'back in my day' while reminiscing about VHS, I will say that I absolutely get why the youths are so attached to their phones. These things put the entire world in your hands - you have your friends, entertainment, any piece of information you could possibly want, all a swipe away. Who could resist that? More specifically, what kind of kid or teenager could resist that? I know fully grown adults who struggle with their phones; the kids never stood a chance.
And therein lies the problem. Phones aren’t just a fun distraction—they’re an all-consuming vortex of stress, comparison, and declining mental health. The constant pressure of social media—likes, follows, and viral trends—keeps kids in a perpetual state of comparison and validation-seeking. And let’s not forget the bizarre cultural artifacts that emerge from these digital ecosystems. Case in point: Skibidi Toilet.
If I have to look at it, so do you.
The lamentable decline of meme quality aside, the facts are clear: phones are wreaking havoc on academic performance. Teachers consistently report that students struggle to focus, their attention constantly hijacked by notifications and endless app scrolling. And while some argue that students can multitask, the research says otherwise: attention is finite, and switching between a TikTok feed and algebra homework isn’t exactly a recipe for a 4.0.
The level of change in the classroom over just a few decades is staggering. If our parents wanted to pass a note in class, they had to be sneaky about it, and those interruptions were short-lived. Fast forward to when I was in high school and teens with phones were becoming normalized, there were only handful of things you could do with them, mainly text. Now, everything is accessible through screens, often during lessons, with teachers fighting for attention in a world where every update feels urgent. School can’t compete with that; so is a ban the answer?
Education on Airplane Mode?
To be fair, not everyone agrees that banning phones is the right move. Phones aren’t all bad. They allow kids to connect with the world in ways we never could. They can give students access to educational resources, facilitate communication with parents and teachers, and, in some cases, provide a much-needed escape from difficult situations at school.
One of the particularly compelling arguments against removing phones I've come across is safety. In an era of school shootings and other emergencies, parents understandably want their children to have immediate access to communication. In a worst-case scenario, a phone could be a lifeline. But that’s a difficult trade-off: the same device that can be used to call for help is also the one fueling classroom distraction, cyberbullying, and social isolation.
Then there’s the issue of personal responsibility. Some argue that banning phones entirely prevents students from learning how to manage them responsibly. After all, the real world doesn’t come with locked phone pouches. But the problem is that self-regulation is still developing in young minds. Expecting teenagers to ignore the addictive pull of their screens is like expecting a kid in a candy store to walk away without grabbing a treat.
I find most of these to be unconvincing, even overoptimistic to the point of denying reality. The phones are a problem, and their benefits do not outweigh the damage they cause. Solutions need to be on the table.
Lock, Ban, or Limit?
The research on school phone bans is murky at best. While there is general agreement phone bans are not a bad thing, some studies show outright academic improvement across the board with phones out of the classroom, while others suggest bans have to be paired with phone limitations outside of school to actually be effective. As with everything in the policy world, nothing is ever clear cut.
So, if we accept that phones in classrooms are more of a problem than a benefit, what’s the best path forward for policymakers? There are a few options, each with its own strengths and drawbacks.
1. Outright Bans
The most effective option in terms of removing distractions, but also the hardest to enforce. Schools that have attempted full bans report mixed results—some find that students become more engaged, while others struggle with pushback from parents and kids alike. And of course, there’s the safety concern: how do we balance academic focus with the need for emergency access?
Enforcing an outright ban requires strict monitoring, leading to increased disciplinary actions, tension between students and staff, and even the creation of underground "phone smuggling" operations. Schools that have attempted bans have found that some students resort to hiding devices in creative ways, making enforcement an ongoing challenge.
2. Requiring ‘Dumb’ Phones
Instead of banning phones outright, some have proposed requiring students to use ‘dumb’ phones—basic devices that allow calls and texts but don’t have internet access or apps. This keeps kids connected to their parents but removes the most addictive elements of smartphone use. Downsides? Kids hate them. Then again, no teenager wants to be seen pecking out a text on T9 like it’s 2004 either. But hey, maybe that’s a feature, not a bug.
Of course, this solution assumes that parents or schools are willing to buy a secondary device just for school use. For many families, that’s an extra expense they simply can’t justify. It also assumes that students won’t find workarounds, like bringing a second smartphone hidden in their bags.
3. Locking Up Phones During Class Time
A more balanced approach is requiring students to place their phones in locked pouches during class, with access at approved times or in case of emergencies. This ensures students are focused while still allowing them to have their phones during breaks and before and after school. Schools that have adopted this method report positive results—less distraction, better classroom engagement, and fewer disciplinary issues related to phone use.
This approach sends a clear message to students: your education is important, and we need your full attention, but we also trust you to handle this responsibility. By implementing structured phone policies, schools can create an environment that prioritizes focus and learning without resorting to punitive measures. It’s about setting boundaries while still acknowledging students' need for access and autonomy. When students see that their teachers and administrators respect them enough to balance structure with trust, they’re more likely to rise to the occasion and develop healthier digital habits in the process.
End the Scroll, Start the Lesson
No solution is perfect but doing nothing isn’t an option. Smartphones are reshaping childhood, often in ways that harm more than help. If we want kids to be engaged, present, and actually learning, we need to rethink their place in schools.
Maybe I sound like my mom now—out of touch, missing the point. But maybe, just maybe, she was onto something. And maybe, years from now, today’s kids will look back at the time they spent staring at their screens and wonder what they missed.
It’s time to put the phones away—at least for a little while. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to figure out if my AARP discount covers flip phones.
Well-written, covers several angles. Thanks for sharing.
Here are some thoughts that popped up in my head after reading your article.
- Banning cannot be a long-term solution for it can cause several negative second-order effects.
- If we go granular, then we can ask pointed questions. For instance, are the students texting each other while the teacher is teaching? Are there situations when this does not happen? For example, if the students are engaged in an activity or if the subject is interesting, are they still checking their phones. How many students display phone addiction and is there a pattern there?
Keeping the phone in a locker is again a forced solution. It is not perfect but maybe workable given the other options.
Ideally, students should have control over their phones rather than the phones having control over them. And this stems from self-control, which is a consequence of several other things that happen mostly at home depends upon how parents empower their children. But we do not live in an ideal world.
Perhaps, the orientation can begin at home and it will impact their behaviour at school and in other aspects of life. For instance, if the parents are continuously on their phones, consciously and subconsciously it sends out a message to the children that this is okay. And then it becomes their second nature.
Easier said than done. But we got to try.