School systems have been in a battle against students and their phone usage since social media became popular. Many schools have rules implemented to stop students from staring at their phones, such as during a lesson. Around Michigan, schools have started banning phones for students during the school day. Some schools, such as Woodhaven High School, haven’t gone that far, but they still limit phone usage. Governor Gretchen Whitmer, during her State of the State speech in February, raised the concern of phone usage in schools. Should she limit phone usage in schools?
Whitmer explained in her State of the State address, “We’ve seen encouraging data about how commonsense restrictions on phone use during class lead to more learning and less bullying. Kids listen, raise their hands, and make more friends. They talk during field trips. Three-quarters say they feel happy or peaceful without their phone. That’s what school should be about.” Gov. Whitmer accuses cell phone usage of causing many problems in schools, and the first one is not paying attention, which stops teens from learning. Now, it seems to be common sense that if you are not looking at your assignment or the teacher trying to teach you, you won’t learn anything.
Gov. Whitmer says that banning phones during class would reduce bullying. Is this true, though? Bullying is a huge problem in schools, but it has been declining in the last ten years. However, there are new kinds of bullying now, such as cyberbullying, which involves bullying someone through social media. Cyberbullying has been on the rise since the 2000s, but it has been a very slow increase.
She does not just blame phones for bullying but also for people not making enough friends. This can be true, and some have a harder time. Some people only know how to communicate through a screen and don’t understand how to properly socialize. These are problems many of our youth face, especially after COVID-19. On the other hand, more teens say that social media helps them connect with friends more and meet new people. According to a Pews Research article, 83% of teens say that social media has helped them connect or stay connected to friends. Using social media, you can reach people from across the world, which is a great way to learn.
Gov. Whitmer believes taking phones out of schools will decrease things such as bullying and increase socializing between students. But these are things that can easily be stopped with just some guidance. Don’t blame phones for the reason but the people who didn’t teach these kids or teens how to properly use a phone. Phones are new to this generation, and we are now just seeing the impact on our youth. We can’t blame anyone, such as parents, for not teaching them how to properly use social media because they have no idea either. It simply impacts kids more because as a kid or teen, your brain isn’t fully developed. Gen-Z, being the first generation to be born into the age of the internet, are like guinea pigs and are the first to face the effects of social media. Maybe because of this, they will now know how to deal with social media as adults and help the next generation use social media and phones more safely.
Therefore, limiting phone usage in schools might help, but students need to be able to put down their phones on their own. Children under the age of 12 should be monitored, but as you get to age 13, I believe you need to be able to understand social media and control your phone usage. This starts with teaching kids the proper way to use phones, when it’s a good time to peer at them, and when it’s not.
