The Case for Banning Phones in School

(from the Atlantic) Numerous studies have shown that since the advent of smart phones and instant access to social media in 2012, youth mental health has declined. Educators despair at how students arrive already depressed and anxious and less able to focus on their studies and each other. NYU social psychologist Jonathan Haidt has created an open-access review of the literature, and outlines 5 levels of phone control within schools. The first two, simply saying students should only use phones for class or leave them in their bags, he believes are ineffective. Level 3 involves storing phones during class but the danger there is that all time between classes will be spent on phones. He believes levels 4 and 5 -- putting phones in locked pouches or locked in a cubby for the full day -- are most effective. 

More from the Atlantic