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In recent weeks, a plan to ban cellphones in New York public schools next school year has gained momentum. The proposal will soon head to the NY state legislature for an official vote.

“We protected our kids before from cigarettes, alcohol and drunk driving, and now we’re protecting them from addictive technology designed to hijack their attention,” Governor Kathy Hochul said when discussing the ban.

Today, it’s estimated that 42% of United States children own a cellphone by age 10, and 91% by age 14. These high percentages of school-age students who own cellphones make such restrictions controversial, as it would transform the lives of almost every public school student.

This proposed ban isn’t only unnecessary and unrealistic — it could also harm students. In today’s digital age and political climate, the career and safety concerns that accompany these restrictions can’t be ignored.

Schools need to be secure places where students are adequately prepared for higher education and employment. By restricting phone use in schools, educators fall short of this trajectory. Now more than ever, institutions and businesses operate in ways that require students and employees to be well-versed with technology.

In the case of shootings or other emergencies, students need to have easy access to their phones to contact first responders and loved ones. Access to phones in these situations can be the difference between extinguishing a threat and letting it claim numerous lives.

College institutions rely on mobile apps to optimize the college experience, making class information simpler to access and campuses easier to navigate. Syracuse University’s OrangeNow is just one example. The app allows students to easily navigate campus, track shuttles and see advertisements for activities.

Public high schools could benefit from similar softwares, helping them model the digital environment students will inevitably experience at college. Additionally, a majority of colleges rely strictly on online softwares like Blackboard and Canvas as assignment dropboxes.

We also observe this trend in lower-level educators shifting away from paper submissions. Reliance on technology is becoming integrated into the school system regardless of the way it’s used, and attempting to restrict such usage not only impairs the learning curve but is simply impractical.

This trend doesn’t disappear after school. Cell phones also dominate today’s workforce. Almost 85% of businesses have policies requiring workers to hold onto their cellphones during the day. This requires individuals to be not just comfortable but confident with various online platforms when exploring job opportunities.

Incorporating cell phone-related lessons into school curriculums and presenting these lessons as necessary life skills would help schools administer applicable and relevant learning.

Phones are also imperative to their own safety in light of continued school shootings. New York does have strict gun laws in place, but this hasn’t minimized the issue statewide.

Since 2020, 121 mass shootings have occurred in New York. Tragically, these shootings often take the lives of children, with gunfire being a leading cause of child death within the state. And, if New York inspires other states to follow phone restriction trends, we’ll face an even greater crisis considering President Donald Trump’s administration’s response to this mass gun violence.

Speaking on a 2024 school shooting which occurred in Iowa, Trump denounced the severity of the issue. “Get over it,” he told residents of Sioux Center.

With Trump in office, we can’t rely on our executive branch to step in and take any real measures to end these tragedies. What we can do is ensure our students are equipped with the appropriate tools for safety and communication.

These in-school phone bans attempt to address the primary concern that many students — especially those of elementary age — are too young to be active on social media. Governments and educators believe if they enact these bans, it’ll decrease the number of youth present on social media.

The reality isn’t so simple. Kids and younger teenagers will have access to social media platforms sooner or later, and will often go under the noses of their parents, or even educators, to use the internet. Instead of banning phones, and in turn social media, schools should aim to educate their students on using these platforms correctly so their phone usage doesn’t endanger them.

Cellphone culture is omnipresent within communities of young, school-aged students. It’s unlikely this will change, so it’s important schools adjust to this reality.

By encouraging students to use their phones in productive, real-world ways, schools can change the way phones are used in education while simultaneously helping preserve their safety.

Will Chadwick is a freshman psychology major. His column appears weekly. He can be reached at wchadwic@syr.edu.

Published on April 29, 2025 at 11:56 pm