Ohio House Bill 250 is requiring school districts to adopt cellphone policies with the goal of limiting students’ cellphone usage and distractions as much as possible. Student cellphone use in school should be limited because it will create a more focused learning environment, improve students’ mental health and limit cheating on tests or assignments.
The current learning environment at the high school is mostly productive, but many of the shortcomings stem from technology usage in the classroom due to constant distractions. According to a study from JAMA Pediatrics, an international pediatric journal, kids spend nearly a quarter of instructional school time on social media and other messaging apps alone. The time spent scrolling should instead be focused on paying attention in class and engaging in the material the teacher is presenting. By implementing the new phone policy, students will become more present and productive in educational spaces.
Furthermore, students are unable to focus when their phone is buzzing with notifications nonstop during the school day. According to Santa Maria College, notifications trigger a release of dopamine, which can create a sense of anticipation and addiction, causing people to constantly look for new notifications. The pressure to answer a simple text message or respond to an Instagram Reel causes ongoing distractions for students, creating a less focused learning environment.
Students also use their cellphones to cheat on tests or assignments. According to a study by the National Institutes of Health, 60% of students admitted to cheating on an exam with their phone. The school-issued Chromebooks use the program Lightspeed, which blocks websites that aren’t used for educational purposes. However, the district can’t do the same for cellphones, giving students the opportunity to cheat on assignments or tests. Therefore, limiting access to cellphones will reduce the opportunities to fake assignments and manipulate tests.
In addition to the academic shortcomings, many students miss out on the social aspect of school due to excessive cellphone usage. The Pew Research Center study found 30% of young adults use their phone to avoid interacting with people around them. Shying away from in-school connections can limit friendships both in school and out of school, greatly affecting a student’s life. Also, avoiding social interactions in school doesn’t allow for students to learn how to have a conversation with their peers or their teachers. School isn’t just for intellectual growth; it is also a space for students to develop social skills and learn how to communicate with their peers. School is a vehicle for social interaction, and frequent phone usage hinders this development.
Technology usage negatively impacts students’ mental health, which translates into the classroom environment. According to The Lancet, poor mental health among teenagers can harm sleep schedules, physical activity and academic performance, which can be caused by increasing phone usage. A majority of the problems students have in the classroom ultimately come from cellphone usage, and while House Bill 250 doesn’t limit cellphone usage outside of school, it could possibly encourage good habits that would be beneficial to students’ education and overall health in the long run.
While many students may be upset about limits on cellphone usage in school, the benefits that they will reap from it will outweigh not texting their friends tenfold.