Blanket phone bans in schools are well-intentioned—but they could backfire

Several school districts have issued bans on phone usage as concerns over students' mental health mount.

Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) recently announced a blanket ban on phones for students, and districts including New York City, the nation’s largest school district, may soon follow suit, while states like Pennsylvania and California are considering legislative measures. While well-intentioned, this policy fails to address the nuanced role technology plays in modern education. Rather than focusing on responsible usage, the ban prohibits phone use “all day—including during lunch and breaks.”

It’s clear why such drastic measures feel necessary to school districts across the nation.

The data shows that adolescents who use social media more than three hours per day face twice the risk of experiencing poor mental health outcomes, such as depression and anxiety. In practice though, simply dictating when and where phones can be used won’t improve mental health because it doesn’t address the underlying problem. Abrupt bans could promote viewing phone usage as a reward—where phones are only used for YouTube, Snapchat, and TikTok—rather than as a tool for collaboration, learning, and productivity.

As the founder of Saturn, I run an app used by millions of high schoolers and have seen firsthand that students need to learn how to manage their time and tasks with technology. This is critical for success in higher education as well as in the professional world. In college, students will rely heavily on their phones for productivity tasks such as managing their schedules, accessing educational resources, collaborating on group projects, and communicating with professors. In the workplace, smartphones have become indispensable tools for coordinating with colleagues, organizing tasks, and accessing documents on the go.

I urge LAUSD and other school districts to consider an integrated approach that incorporates cell phones into the learning environment while addressing the legitimate concerns of parents and educators. By integrating phones into the learning environment and teaching students how to leverage these devices for productive purposes, we equip them with essential skills that will enhance their efficiency, collaboration, and time management in both higher education and their careers.

To mitigate the negative impact of social media specifically, school districts should consider other tactics, like lessons on responsible social media usage and digital literacy. Online resources like Everyday Speech offer curriculums and activities focused on “safe social media usage,” designed to be easy to implement with minimal prep work for teachers. Public schools like the Florida Department of Education have even developed standalone courses to help students understand the history of social media, its impact, and how to use platforms for good. Meanwhile, The Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center (MARC) created a curriculum for grades K-5 to prevent cyberbullying before it begins.

School districts must also engage parents and the community. Parents should be provided with resources to understand how they can use built-in features on smartphones, such as Apple’s Screen Time or Android’s Digital Wellbeing, to set daily limits on app usage and create downtime schedules during certain hours and at night.

While screen time can be a useful starting point, parents also need intel into the apps and services children are utilizing and the purpose each tool serves. Parents should have access to up-to-date resources on the latest social media trends and apps to better understand their children’s digital environment. By being informed and involved, parents can set a positive example and help their children navigate the digital world responsibly.

This debate is reminiscent of the emergence of the internet when many educational institutions grappled with the idea of completely restricting internet access. Instead of outright bans, schools began to integrate the internet into their curricula, teaching students how to use it responsibly and effectively. They implemented filters to block harmful content while encouraging students to harness the vast educational resources available online. This balanced approach not only mitigated the risks but also unlocked the immense potential of the internet as a learning tool.

Just as banning the internet would have deprived students of essential skills and opportunities, banning phones risks leaving students ill-prepared for the digital world they are set to inherit. By adopting a more holistic, nuanced approach, the public and private sectors can work together to harness the benefits of technology to enhance education and prepare students for the future. Let’s create an environment where technology is a tool for learning, not a distraction.

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