More students are advocating for their own digital wellbeing and developing programs to thrive in tech-free learning environments
As students across the country return to school this month, many will be confronting a new reality: classrooms without smartphones.
Educators and parents have long fronted the fight against the debilitating influence technology can wield. Yet, many young people say they have been left out of important conversations around school phone policies, which are now in effect in at least 39 states and Washington DC.
Student organizers told the Guardian they support screen-time bans in schools, but such policies are often haphazardly enforced and don’t address the root causes of screen addiction, such as intense social pressure and feelings of isolation. In response, more students are advocating for their own digital wellbeing and developing programs to thrive in tech-free learning environments.
Olivia Howard, a rising junior in New York state, recalled receiving her first iPad when she was in kindergarten. For digital natives like herself, she said, quitting their devices cold turkey was never going to be easy.
“We were the first generation to grow up on technology,” she said. “If legislators are implementing these phone bans, we need to take into account: what are the substitutes? Most kids my age have a relationship with technology, so there has to be other alternatives to replace it.”
In California, a new state law that took effect on 1 July requires school districts to develop policies that restrict phone use on campus. Elise Choi, a junior at the Orange County School of the Arts, said locking up devices is a step in the right direction but may not, on its own, be especially effective, since “kids will always find a way around regulations”.
As a K-12 policy co-chief with GENUp, a youth-led education advocacy group, Choi spent most of the year authoring and building a coalition for a state bill that would mandate district-wide digital wellness education, which teaches students how social media and AI affect their mental health.
“It’s not a matter of how long we’re on our devices but what it’s doing to us when we’re on it,” she said. “In general, the harm really extends beyond the classroom.”
Teens often stay up late scrolling on social media and texting, Choi said, which can cause insomnia and affect their ability to focus at school. Add to that the constant pressure to seek validation by garnering more “likes” or followers.
“Our entire social lives are happening online,” Choi said. “Digital wellness education is about giving students the understanding and skills to actually make better choices, set limits and understand the impact that it’s having on our health.”
Other students are proactively shaping phone bans at their schools. Liv Kong, a rising senior at Legacy Magnet Academy in Tustin, California, led a student advisory group that conducted surveys and rolled out three pilot phone policies to determine which one best suited students and faculty.
The idea for student-led pilots was formed a year ago, Kong said, after the school implemented a bell-to-bell ban without student input, which sparked a huge backlash. The students eventually chose a policy of banning phones in class but not during breaks.
“Growing up, I’ve seen that imbalance of power between the people who make decisions and the people those decisions affect,” Kong said. “Our mission was to make sure there’s student body representation in those decisions.”
Vihaan Bhardwaj, a rising senior at Mount Everest Academy and GENUp K-12 policy co-chief, said that when the San Diego school district banned phone use in classrooms last year, many students were apprehensive and confused about the intention behind the policy. In response, a committee with students from each school has been meeting regularly with top education officials to discuss how they can better communicate screen time mandates to students “in a way that feels supportive and not punitive”, he said.