I’ve got two teenagers, and I live in a state with a K-12 cellphone ban. I used to think it was a good idea (my wife still does!). Now I’m not so sure.
In recent weeks, I’ve begun to notice that when my teenagers arrive home from school after a day without phones, the first thing they want to do is get online. The Commons’ co-founders, Shannon Godfrey and Julia Gustafson, told me that behavioral economists call that “rebound consumption.” In other words, forced hours of disconnection only make them hungrier for screen time.
To date, only five states have enacted blanket bans on cellphone use. Another 18 require districts to prohibit cellphone use during school hours. All but 11 have passed some sort of legislation to restrict cellphone use in schools. The nation’s largest school districts, including NYC Public Schools and LAUSD, have also hopped on the bandwagon. (Check out our interactive map.)
From a policy standpoint, cellphone bans have triggered a host of debates about school safety, emergencies, and how and whether phones can be deployed as learning tools. Like most policy debates, there are good arguments on all sides and no shortage of tradeoffs. My household is no exception.
What I’m increasingly worried about is how and if cellphone policies in schools are helping young people to build healthy habits or learn how to manage inevitable distractions. Rather than take on the hard questions, I worry that we’re simply kicking the can down the road. With schools, sports teams, study groups, and carpools all using apps and social media to communicate with kids and families, I also wonder whether we’re sending mixed messages.
Adults don’t live like this. When we’re out-of-office, we make choices about when to log on and when to unplug. We communicate expectations in meetings and differentiate between settings where we need to be fully engaged, and where some degree of multitasking is OK. Developing norms isn’t always easy for individuals or organizations, but that’s the world that our young people are growing into.
To help schools and districts strike the right balance, a growing number of tools like Learning.com are being paired with cellphone restrictions to help students develop more healthy relationships with technology. Organizations like ISTE+ASCD are, likewise, providing educators with resources to help build “healthy digital cultures.”
I’m especially excited about The Commons, a fast-growing software company with deep roots in behavioral economics. They’re building tools to help students recognize appropriate times, places, and manners of phone use. Instead of collecting devices or locking them away, they’re tapping into students’ intrinsic motivation and social cues, to give them nudges toward healthy use. Early feedback from partner schools tells of livelier and more engaged free periods, more books checked out of the library, and smoother classroom instruction—without compromising student autonomy or policing devices.
This article is sourced from Whiteboard Notes, our weekly newsletter of the latest education policy and industry news read by thousands of education leaders, investors, grantmakers, and entrepreneurs. Subscribe here.
