In response to the inordinate amount of time young Americans spend online, a bipartisan group of lawmakers is pushing to curb students’ access to social media sites while at school. The goal of keeping students off TikTok during the school day is undoubtedly worthwhile, but policymakers would be better off taking a simpler and more effective approach: banning mobile phones from schools altogether.
It’s by now indisputable that allowing kids to have phones in the classroom harms academic performance – even among those who don’t actually use them. Excessive smartphone and social media use have also been linked to rising rates of teenage depression, emotional distress and self-harm. Three-quarters of US public schools claim to prohibit “nonacademic” use of mobile phones during class, but enforcement remains weak. A recent survey found that 97% of US adolescents used their phones at school, with most of it spent on social media, YouTube and gaming platforms.
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