There’s a new trend this back-to-school season: cellphone bans
At least eight states have enacted regulations Cellphone use has been limited in schools so far this year, and many other individual districts and schools have implemented similar policies on their own. The changes are driven by bipartisan concerns that teens are unable to step away from their phones and focus in class, or even talk to people in real life, as well as growing concern about the widespread mental health challenges posed by social media.
“At first I thought it was going to be really annoying, but it’s actually not that bad,” said Lev Zeitser, a freshman at the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia who is limiting phone use this year. “I think it’s like a different level of communication that comes with, like, being bored.”
New York Governor Cathy Hochul agrees. He is campaigning to ban cellphones across the Empire State.
“I have spoken to schools where they have banned cellphones. We found that there are many challenges involved. But if you push it forward, we can be successful,” Hochul said Today, explained Co-hosted by Sean Rameswaram.
Below is a portion of Sean’s conversation with Hochul, edited for length and clarity. There’s more in the full podcast, so take a listen Today, explained on Apple Podcasts, Spotifyor Wherever you find podcasts.
Sean Rameswaram
You have a lot on your plate. You got it – we saw you at the DNC. Obviously, a lot of election stuff is up in the air right now. There has been much debate around congestion pricing. But we’re here to focus on getting cellphones out of the classroom. Why is this an important issue for you now?
Kathy Hochul
It’s the culmination of a long journey that I started about a year and a half, two years ago, when I was looking at data about teenagers really struggling after the pandemic. And I wanted to know what was going on with the kids. And I have a lot of teenage nieces and nephews and I see things happening that are not positive. I started talking to teenagers, visiting schools, in every corner of the state, calling them and finding that they were so affected by the bombardment of addictive algorithms on social media all day.
And also in extreme cases of FOMO. They need to know what’s going on—girls meeting in the restroom without them? Planning a party and they aren’t there? So the stress level of these kids is off the charts. But meanwhile, it’s the time of the school day when they’re supposed to pay attention to a teacher, learn something, and finally graduate. So it’s a huge distraction.
I know the opposition, what they’re going to say – they’re going to tell me that they need to be able to reach their children if there’s a crisis. And I’ll tell you right now, that was my first reaction, like, well, they may not need to access the Internet, social media during the day, but they definitely need a cellphone to contact their parents if there’s a mass shooting — Every parent’s nightmare. But what I’ve heard from law enforcement has disproved that idea … They said that if there’s a crisis on campus, whatever it is, the last thing you want is your kids reaching for their cell phones, trying to contact them, pictures. You can pick it up, I’m getting the video. You want them to pay attention to the head of the classroom, their teacher, to lead them to safety. And I agreed the second I heard from law enforcement.
Sean Rameswaram
Interesting. As you point out, many schools are doing this. Schools across the country are doing it, states across the country are doing it. Blue states, red states, they’re taking different approaches. Which approach do you want to take in New York?
Kathy Hochul
We are discontinuing our data collection process. First, I cannot do anything as governor without the legislature. So I’m basically building the case, building the data, building the narrative, information from the surgeon general, other experts, authors who are studying this, making the argument that, first of all, our young people are better off without an access. Cellphones during the school day. And 72 percent of teachers The teachers of this country say It’s a big distraction. It does not help the learning process. In fact, it prevents it.
So we’re looking and I’m going to propose it in the next few months before they meet again in January, maybe a cellphone ban … It’s easier to lock them in at the beginning of the school day, let them out at the end of the school day instead of: “Who’s going to make sure they’re off? Did they lock up again when returning from? Who’s going to make sure they lock up after lunch? What if they go to the restroom? … Teachers don’t want to be the phone police. They want to teach.
Sean Rameswaram
I want to ask you how parents might feel about this, because parents seem to be a big part of this equation. And it generally seems, and we’ve heard it even, you know, one of the parents on our team, parents want to be able to communicate with their kids throughout the school day. And I’m wondering, one, have you heard from parents in New York state, and two, how do you sell it to them when the time comes?
Kathy Hochul
That’s a good question. And here’s what I would say: Talk to the other parents who come to our meetings, but especially the teachers. We get a lot of them. And those who understand what happened to their child in this setting are different people than they are because of this constant contact with others. [not be] Confused, they’re supposed to be learning.
A mother said, “My son is being tortured all day long. My husband now leaves work early, so he’ll be there when he gets home from school to make sure he doesn’t take his own life.” Because the pressure on kids to bully through their phones, through social media platforms, it’s intense. Now , it’s probably a rare occurrence. I’m not saying it’s common, but people don’t understand the pressure they’re under about what they look like. It’s a tough environment to be a teenager in any situation, but when you’re all You exacerbate this when external external factors are simultaneously hurting them.
When I was growing up, yes, there were bullies. Yes there were bad kids. You walked down another hall, you avoided them, didn’t you? You can’t avoid being bombarded with messaging throughout the day. And we must free our children.
Sean Rameswaram
Where do you think we will end up as a country? … Do you think we’ll end up in a place where every school does some version of it?
Kathy Hochul
My view is that if we ever start with the expectation that they will be allowed in school, this will be the first generation that we free from it and then there won’t be the same pressure on the next generation … to listen to the kids. They want us to save them. And I’m the adult who’s willing to do that.
