As students across the country return to school this month, many will be confronting a new reality: classrooms without smartphones. Educators and parents have long fronted the fight against the debilitating influence technology can wield. Yet, many young people say they have been left out of important conversations around school phone policies, which are now in effect in at least 39 states and Washington DC.
Student organizers told the Guardian they support screen-time bans in schools, but such policies are often haphazardly enforced and don’t address the root causes of screen addiction, such as intense social pressure and feelings of isolation. In response, more students are advocating for their own digital wellbeing and developing programs to thrive in tech-free learning environments. Olivia Howard, a rising junior in New York state, recalled receiving her first iPad when she was in kindergarten.
For digital natives like herself, she said, quitting their devices cold turkey was never going to be easy. Most kids my age have a relationship with technology, so there has to be other alternatives to replace it.” In California, a new state law that took effect on 1 July requires school districts to develop policies that restrict phone use on campus. Elise Choi, a junior at the Orange County School of the Arts, said locking up devices is a step in the right direction but may not, on its own, be especially effective, since “kids will always find a way around regulations”.
As a K-12 policy co-chief with GENUp, a youth-led education advocacy group, Choi spent most of the year authoring and building a coalition for a state bill that would mandate district-wide digital wellness education, which teaches students how social media and AI affect their mental health. Add to that the constant pressure to seek validation by garnering more “likes” or followers. Liv Kong, a rising senior at Legacy Magnet Academy in Tustin, California, led a student advisory group that conducted surveys and rolled out three pilot phone policies to determine which one best suited students and faculty.
The idea for student-led pilots was formed a year ago, Kong said, after the school implemented a bell-to-bell ban without student input, which sparked a huge backlash. The students eventually chose a policy of banning phones in class but not during breaks. In response, a committee with students from each school has been meeting regularly with top education officials to discuss how they can better communicate screen time mandates to students “in a way that feels supportive and not punitive”, he said.
Over the past year, the campaign has supported 50 schools and reached 17,000 students across the state. Two teens in a rural school, noticing that phone use spiked after the art program was cut, placed rolling “crafts carts” around campus where students could use art supplies during and after school. At another school, a teen used the mini-grant to organize a phone-free scavenger hunt where students used disposable cameras to complete challenges.
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