By Kayla DeKraker
Phone bans in schools have helped children eliminate screen time and improve the overall learning environment, so the Wall Street Journal wonders why more schools aren’t jumping on the trend.
“For most schools in the US in states that adopted #phonefreeschools policies, it’s only been 3-4 months since these rules took effect. It’s been a transition period, and yet right away we’re seeing very encouraging results,” social psychologist and The Anxious Generation author Jonathan Haidt said on Instagram, responding to the WSJ’s query.
The WSJ reported that school districts are seeing a major change in students following phone bans.
“When you have 267 incidents of threats and physical injury in the first 10 weeks of a school year, that’s a serious problem,” April Moore, superintendent of the Sierra Sands Unified School District, said of last year’s disciplinary issues.
This year, though, everything’s different, thanks to eliminating phones.
Related: Screen Time is Creating an Anxious Generation, Studies Say
“Incidents involving threats and physical injury in the first 10 weeks this school year declined by almost half to 142. The number of disciplinary actions for harassment dropped by nearly 83% to 19. Total suspensions were down 69% to 72,” the WSJ said.
“Early data on the effects of school phone bans confirm what teachers and administrators have long suspected — that phones in the classroom were the primary culprit behind bad behavior and low engagement,” the outlet continued.
Haidt said, “I love this feedback from a teacher: ‘I’m seeing a bit more of the innocence of childhood coming back.’”
The author hopes these results encourage other states to take up the cause.
“Here’s to more #phonefreeschools in 2026 📵🏫📵 ,” his post concluded. “Just 10 more states to go, and another 20 to go from instructional-time-only to full-school-day (bell to bell) policies. With results like these, it’s just a matter of time before all of the US has this new norm in its classrooms, and kids are engaging more deeply in learning and play while at school.”
Whether or not your state has restricted phone use in classrooms, parents should take steps to ensure their children have healthy boundaries when it comes to devices.
Haidt recommends four things: “no smartphones before high school, no social media before 16, phone-free schools” (if possible) and “more independence, free play, and responsibility in the real world.”
As parents and educators, we can uphold healthy boundaries in the lives of our children and do our best to protect them from the dangers of phone overuse.
Read Next: Is Everyone in Favor of School Cell Phone Bans?
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