Elizabeth Chuck, NBC News; Lifeline or distraction? Georgia shooting reignites debate over cellphones in schools
"There is clear research showing the detriments of smartphones, particularly to adolescents. The phones and their addictive social media platforms have been tied to poor sleep, cyberbullying and unhealthy body esteem in young people. A 2023 study by technology and media research group Common Sense Media found that adolescents are overwhelmed with notifications from their smartphones — receiving a median of 237 alerts daily, with about a quarter arriving during the school day.
At least 13 states have passed laws or put policies in place that ban or restrict students’ use of cellphones in schools statewide, or recommend that local districts enact their own restrictions, according to Education Week. Individual school districts, both large and small, have also implemented policies that limit or prohibit cellphone use, with a growing number relying on magnetically sealed pouches to lock up the devices so students aren’t tempted to check them when they should be learning.
Being able to get in touch if there’s an emergency is the top reason parents say they want their children to have access to phones at school, according to a National Parents Union survey conducted in February of more than 1,500 parents of K-12 public school students.
Yet fatal shootings in schools are exceedingly rare. And while parents may want to reach their children should there be shots fired or another emergency, phones “can actually detract from the safety of students,” according to Ken Trump, president of National School Safety and Security Services, a consulting firm that focuses on school security and emergency preparedness training."
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