A smartphone ban is a better plan

A smartphone ban is a better plan

1. Have you ever had a hard time focusing in class because your phone was buzzing in your pocket? Or felt like you spent way too much time scrolling through social media? Many teens struggle with focus and mental health because of smartphones. So what should we do about these problems? I believe that
   banning
   smartphones in schools will lead to more learning and better mental health for students.

Smartphones’ impact on learning and focus

2. Smartphones are designed to draw our attention, which is exactly what students don’t need when they’re trying to focus! Some people say teens should just choose not to look at their phones. But other people say that’s too hard. One of those people is Tristan Harris, a former Google engineer and the founder of the Center for Humane Technology. He said, “You can try having self-control, but there are a thousand engineers on the other side of the screen working against you." For example, ignoring alerts uses up willpower. This means that over time, it gets harder to keep ignoring them. And studies show that just one quick look at a text means it can take about nine and a half minutes to get back to what you were doing! We can’t expect teens to win a focus battle against huge tech companies.
3. And there’s more. A study by Glass and Kang (2018) looked at students who used smartphones and other devices in class. The study showed that students who used smartphones in class did about five percent worse on final tests than students who didn’t. And what’s worse is that the study showed that just allowing smartphones in class can hurt the learning of students who aren’t even using phones. So, a ban on smartphones would help protect all students’ learning.

Smartphones, social media, and mental health

4. Smartphones can also hurt our mental health. Mental health is how healthy our minds are. It deals with how we feel and think in ways that help us to be happy and successful or unhappy and unsuccessful.
5. Research shows that social media can harm teens’ mental health. Social media has been linked to depression and anxiety. And when teens have smartphones in schools, they also have access to social media. But, if schools ban smartphones, teens won’t be able to go on social media during school. In turn, this might lead to less time on social media and better mental health.
6. Also, if students don’t have smartphones to steal their attention at lunch, they might use that time to interact with other people. This could also help mental health!

But what about safety? What about learning apps?

7. Some parents and teens argue that we should allow smartphones in school to help keep students safe in emergencies. But, I think this argument is invalid. After all, if there’s an emergency, students shouldn’t be texting and calling their parents. They should be listening to their teachers! I think that smartphones might make students act less safe in emergencies.
8. And while smartphones can have learning apps, schools could just let students use computers or smartboards for learning. These tools won’t be as distracting as smartphones but can still help kids learn.

Some last thoughts…

9. In sum, I argue that schools should ban smartphones. This matters because smartphones have harmful effects on focus, learning, and mental health. It’s important that schools also enforce their smartphone bans. Though banning smartphones might raise concerns about safety and access to learning apps, the benefits to students would be much bigger than the costs.