Parents are waiting for their district’s leadership to take action on cell phone bans in schools amid a nationwide tipping point pushing for lower screen times and less time on social media.
A staggering 84% of parents believe cell phones are causing serious problems at school, according to a new survey from Yondr, which makes the magnetic pouches that districts use to store phones during the school day.
Although parental pushback is often a significant hurdle for administrators in passing school-wide cell phone bans, parents now more than ever expect schools to take the lead on this issue. More specifically:
- 89% of parents want schools to develop a long-term plan for managing phone use
- 68% of parents expect schools to invest in cutting-edge solutions to address it
- 56% of parents support either a bell-to-bell phone-free policy or a complete ban on phones in schools
“Phone-free spaces can no longer be considered an optional add-on, but are now a baseline requirement expected by parents in their child’s school,” said Graham Dugoni, founder and CEO of Yondr.
The push to restrict cell phone use stems from a shared belief by parents that higher screen times lead to negative behavioral effects, including distraction (62%), anxiety (31.9%) and loneliness (25%).
Parents were also asked to rate how challenging the following phone-related issues are for schools:
| Very Serious | Somewhat serious | |
| Inappropriate use of phones | 60% | 35% |
| Phones creating distractions during instruction | 60% | 34% |
| Student dependency on phones affecting social skill development | 53% | 40% |
| Teachers struggling to manage phone use effectively | 44% | 47% |
| Lack of clear strategies for teachers to manage/address phone use | 38% | 51% |
| Phone left on school premises | 33% | 43% |
In light of this data, parents outlined what they want to see from their schools to address this issue. Here’s what they said:
- Consult experts in learning and/or childhood development when setting phone use policy (81%)
- Enforce appropriate disciplinary actions for infractions (91%)
- Develop clear emergency protocols (93%)
View the full survey here.
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