So many people are glued to their cellphones these days, mindlessly scrolling online, it is no wonder Oxford University Press chose “brain-rot” as its word of the year in 2024.
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that our mental and physical well-being takes a definite hit when we stare at electronic screens too much — altering brain activity, reaction times and sleep patterns, scientists have said.
Children who use cellphones and other devices excessively, in particular, are prone to having shorter attention spans and anxiety, research shows. They also are likely to be physically unfit and have difficulty socializing. With that kind of impact, it’s frightening to learn, for example, that recreational screen time for 12- and 13-year-olds doubled during the pandemic, and while it has since declined, still remains above pre-pandemic levels, a study led by University of California San Francisco found.
Clearly, cellphone use in classrooms leads to distraction and can easily impede learning. For many teachers, cellphones likely count as Public Enemy Number One.
That’s why state legislators should back Gov. JB Pritzker’s proposal to keep class time in Illinois public and charter schools cellphone-free.
We can hear complaints already from some students, maybe even from some parents who want to be able to reach their child at a moment’s notice. But the movement against cellphones in classrooms has gained considerable steam among teachers: A survey by the National Education Association found that 90% of members nationwide favor a ban on cellphone use during instruction time. As of December 2024, eight states had statewide policies banning or restricting cellphones in schools.
The governor’s proposal would give school districts leeway on how to implement a cellphone policy. It doesn’t call for a total ban inside schools, as some districts in Champaign, Springfield and Peoria have put in place.
Instead, the proposed bills rightly focuses on banishing cellphones during instruction. Not too different from what teachers did, back in the pre-cellphone era, when students wrote notes and passed them around in class: They confiscated them.
Should teachers want to use cellphones for a lesson in class, they could. So could students in English as a Second Language programs and those with disabilities and health conditions. Other students could make calls during emergencies or in between classes or lunch, under Pritzker’s proposal.
Those guidelines, we think, would address legitimate concerns about access and communication.
Barring cellphones entirely from inside schools would be a problem if the unthinkable happens: a shooting or other violence on school property. Children and teens have to be able to reach their families if they are in harm’s way.
And once outside class, a child might need to call a parent or guardian for a benign reason — soccer practice is running late or they’ll be hanging out with a friend after class.
Placing students’ phones away in another room or locker also leaves the phones ripe for theft.
But for the sake of learning, it’s entirely reasonable to require that a phone be turned off and placed in a backpack or purse. Teaching is hard enough, and too many educators are fleeing the profession. If stowing away a phone temporarily helps them do their job — and helps kids learn that passage from Shakespeare or what an acute angle is — then do it.
Some teachers might have hesitated to impose strict policies on cellphone use for fear of being considered “buzzkill.” Directing school districts to develop policies gives educators the backing they need — and stops students from “phoning it in” during class.
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