New poll shows 67% of Virginia parents support banning cell phones in schools

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — New polling shows a majority of Virginia parents approve of banning cell phones in schools.

The poll, conducted by the Washington Post-Schar School, found that 67% of parents in Virginia support banning cell phones in schools — including during lunch periods and between classes.

“All children need to learn that there is time for social media and texting, and there is time to do other things,” said Dr. Ekaterina Stepanova, a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Health. “I think it’s a good break for both kids and teachers to not to have to worry about cell phones when they are in school.”

Stepanova said she believes that less time on phones and social media would be a good thing for students.

“Social media shows people how great [other] peoples’ lives are, and maybe, when children are having problems in their life and they are seeing that their friends are [posting] wonderful pictures on Instagram or Facebook of whatever the kids are using now, that makes them feel awful,” she said.

Stepanova said that, with rampant social media use being the norm among kids and teens and cyberbullying being common, it’s up to parents to educate their kids on responsible social media use when they’re outside of the classroom.

“They still go home and a lot of the kids will still be on their phones a majority of the time and that’s something I think we all need to deal with as a society,” said Stepanova.

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