New York Governor, Kathy Hochul, introduced legislation that would ban smartphones in school. She claimed that cell phones prevented students from engaging in human connections, social interactions, and classroom activities (Zimmer and Elsen-Rooney). Hochul’s policies will be enacted starting in February 2025, but she’s not alone. These policies have spread across the nation as our very own Bothell High School began limiting student’s usage of cell phones, mirroring a similar policy that took effect at North Creek High School last year. Concerns about parents being unable to contact their children to teachers in Australia claiming test scores went up 6.4%, according to the Congressional Digest. These opinions have sparked debate surrounding cellphone usage, especially as more teens have increasing access to smartphones. This raises the question of why Bothell decided to side with Governor Hochul.
Mrs. Rediske, the AP Psychology teacher, was a key player in this decision. As a teacher who is well-versed in emotions and dopamine, Mrs. Rediske has a lot of opinions on how phones control us. She said, “10 years ago, phones weren’t even an issue. But now, you can go on your phone because it’s a space where you can hide and find community. The scroll feature found on many apps was modeled after the pull-down lever on gambling machines, one of the most addictive actions for humans.” Mrs. Rediske also referenced Silicon Valley, the birthplace of Apple, and talked about the creation of the scroll feature. “It’s very intentional. They want you to use their apps as long as possible and scrolling is a way to do that. I couldn’t deal with the phone usage last year. As a teacher, I can’t compete with phones. With the phones gone this year, I finally feel like a teacher again.”
Mrs. Rediske is not the only one. Mr. Fisher, the German language teacher says “It’s hard. Over the summer, a group of teachers got together to address the issues about cell phone usage. The overall consensus was that having phones became more of a negative benefit rather than a positive one. Phones weren’t an issue before Covid, but after the pandemic, we were used to having our phones with us and we longed for that comfort. The hard part is that these apps are meant to hook you as much as possible. It’s too much information for your brain, you are overwhelming yourself until you get exhausted.” What helps Mr. Fisher with limiting his phone usage is keeping his phone outside his room completely. “It’s a good idea to take away the source of distraction rather than battle it all the time. For me, it works to put my phone in my own phone zone, and that makes me a better teacher, and I hope it helps my students too. I would also recommend charging your phone outside your bedroom and don’t take it to bed with you. Set downtime, deactivate your apps, and have a buddy that calls you out. Be accountable for your actions.” Ms. Rediske echoes this sentiment. She says that “having your phone in the same room as you automatically limits your concentration and you will constantly be thinking about your phone.”
When we scroll or use our phones, it is because we are often bored or less engaged in the world around us. We often view school or homework as a stressor and we tend to avoid them, with our phones. We know the negative effects of scrolling. It can include shorter attention spans and it negatively affects our mental health. We are caught in a cycle of procrastination, scrolling, feeling bad, and scrolling again to bypass those negative emotions. But even so, our phones are the first thing we look at when we need comfort. Phones don’t need to be demonized. They are incredibly powerful tools we have access to. But we just need to realize that we are in control and learn that it’s okay to put the phone down. Ask your family to hold you accountable, open a book, or just take the opportunity to feel like a kid again. Our phones have already replaced our calendar, camera, and alarm clock, but they don’t need to replace our family.
