March 13, 2020 marked the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and forever transformed traditional educational systems with the widespread reliance on digital learning. School settings moved from in-person classrooms to Zoom calls at home. As schools navigated this digital learning era, New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul was at the forefront of advocating for a technological countermovement within education: A statewide ban on smartphones in schools that would start at the beginning of the 2024 school year.
Hochul’s proposed bill, which is set to be introduced in January 2025, aims to restrict students’ access to the internet on their phones while still allowing them to carry these devices around for emergencies. The governor’s initiative is rooted in concerns about online privacy, mental health and attention to learning. The governor said that social media platforms are designed to create addictions and avenues for cyberbullying. She also believes that having phones in the classroom impedes students’ emotional and academic growth, fueling the current youth mental health crisis.
Since the onset of the new school year, schools in New York City (NYC) have grappled with this recently implemented policy. According to a Pew Research Center poll, “72% of U.S. high school teachers say cell phone distraction is a major problem in the classroom.” While some schools enforce phone bans by collecting devices each day, others adopt a more lenient approach. About one third of NYC high schools use Yondr pouches, which lock students’ phones away for the school day, though students still figure out ways to access their phones. The debate continues as educators and administrators workshop ideas to determine the most effective practices from schools already managing phone use.
If enacted, New York would be the sixth state alongside Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Virginia to implement laws that ban or restrict students’ cell phone use in schools. Both Mayor Eric Adams and former NYC Schools Chancellor David Banks have held the position that a cell phone ban is a necessary course of action; however, before resigning, Banks adopted a new stance, saying that “now is not the time” for a statewide cell phone ban. His sudden reversal on such a widely supported proposal has come from the concerns of parents who want to be able to directly reach their children in an emergency.
The response to the proposed ban is sharply divided. Supporters agree that stricter rules on phone usage would lead to improved academic performance and a distraction-free environment. Conversely, critics point out that cell phones are devices that students rely on heavily and are a main line of communication between children and their parents.
Hochul’s proposed plan has raised questions about personal freedom and responsibility. Will a ban truly enhance student retention in class and improve learning outcomes or will it cause apprehension among students who feel their autonomy is being compromised? If students feel their phones are part of their identities, how can a ban be enforced?
Because of the cultural complexities surrounding this issue, the ban’s considerations and effects are profound. Smartphones have become more than a communication tool; they represent autonomy, connection and identity.
Michael Lynch, a writer for The Guardian, expressed this sentiment in an article.
“More and more devices – from refrigerators to cars to socks – interact with the internet on a nearly constant basis, leaving a trail of digital exhaust. That means greater convenience, but increasingly it also means that our devices are becoming ‘ready at hand’ as Heidegger would have said. We’ve begun to see them as extensions of ourselves. The Internet of Things has become the Internet of Us,” he wrote.
Society has become increasingly more dependent on technology to access information. Without these devices, a student may feel their self-hood is compromised.
The feasibility of enforcing these restrictions will undoubtedly be difficult. Students can be very savvy at finding ways to circumvent rules and seek out loopholes within the ban.
There are positives to phone bans within schools, such as reducing distractions and them not being used as a crutch when it comes to school work. While these positives seem to outweigh the negatives, banning smartphones won’t eliminate the challenges that come with it. Issues such as cyberbullying, mental health concerns and academic dishonesty are entrenched within education systems. A ban might reduce distractions, but it doesn’t address the underlying issues that smartphones exacerbate.
