It’s the summer of 2025. You’re scrolling on your phone getting ready for the upcoming year when all of a sudden you get an email from Ms. Leimsider, the assistant principal, saying there’s a new phone ban. 

Confused, you think it’s a joke and they wouldn’t actually take everybody’s phones–except they do. It’s now September, the start of school, and your advisor hands over your Yondr pouch. 

Everyone shares mixed feelings about it and are trying to get used to the change. What do your peers at the school say to that? 

History of the Phone Ban:

According to EBSCO, “Cell Phones in School: Overview,” back in the 1990s there was a phone ban, but it was not as severe because phones were not nearly as popular. Not long after the 9/11 occurred, there was a rise in school shootings, so this regulation was abruptly removed. Schools decided to remove those restrictions due to student safety and ensuring that students can reach out to their parents in case of an emergency.

Then in the 2010s many schools reinforced these rules. Phones were banned in many schools due to the fact that kids were very distracted and weren’t paying attention. Many teachers complained that students weren’t getting their work done and constantly had their phones out. 

An article called “The Relationship Between Smartphone Use and Students Academic Performance” shows that the academic achievement between students with their phones were getting lower grades than the kids that didn’t have their phones. Studies also show that consistent phone use lowers the attention spans, leaving kids to not engage in or outside of school. 

In addition, during the 2020 Covid pandemic, there was a massive rise in social media, spanning across TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat. When schools reopened in-person learning in 2021, it was hard to remove students from their phones since they were glued to them for over a year.

On May 1st, Governor Kathy Hochul expressed her concerns about phones in schools. After four months, the phone ban was finalized, and it was implemented in all NYC public schools.

iSchool Opinions

The students at iSchool have many opinions about the Yondr pouches, especially students in grade 10, 11, and 12. At the iSchool, these students never dealt with this before. I’ve interviewed around three kids in the iSchool community to hear their opinions about this ban.

Ela, a sophomore here at the iSchool, expressed her concerns about the phone ban and what she thinks about it. 

She states, “I don’t really like it because if something were to happen in case of an emergency I feel like the faculty wouldn’t  be able to reach all of our parents in time due to the fact we all have to stay safe. Also, I feel like the government should try to get rid of school shootings rather than phones because even though , yes we get distracted with our phones , it also can keep us safe , and without it can be a major safety hazard.”

Due to many shootings happening at different schools or around iSchool, students wonder how they would be able to communicate with their guardians.

Separate from the safety issues, students have other issues with the ban, saying it’s made their lives harder. Back in the 2024- 2025 school year, iSchool students could still bring their devices to school and not have to worry about the school computers. However, that’s changed.

Tiana,  a sophomore here at the iSchool who just transferred, states, “ Since it’s an electronic ban at the iSchool I cant bring my laptop and have to use the schools which takes up most of my time in class trying to log in due to the leisurely time the computer takes to set up.” 

Most of the computers in iSchool don’t work and since there are a lot of kids in the classroom some end without a computer because it either wont turn on which messes up the whole system, only giving students minimum time to work.

Should the Phone Ban be Lifted? 

Furthermore, in an article called “ The Impact of Covid -19 on Smartphone Usage”, it states that based on the data they collected there were many patterns of phone usage on the phone after the outbreak. 

Another article from BMC Psychology says that when adults take teens’ phones in a restrictive way, they tend to rebel and want the phone even more.

This is exactly what Rosemary, another sophomore at the iSchool, said, “I do think the phone ban should be lifted because it is important to have our phones. I think the phone ban has made students more inclined to try and use their phone. Ever since Covid,  we have become more technology absorbed and that’s our lifestyle , not saying it is healthy but now students are trying to find a different way to use their phone whether it’s breaking the pouches or getting an old phone to put in.”

Rosemary also told me privately that she has mixed feelings about the phone ban because now kids are more engaged without their phones, however, it gets irritating to go outside just so she can open her phone.  

This is another big debate going on in the iSchool  Some kids want the phone ban to be lifted while others don’t really care that much because they are used to not having their phone. 

Based on a recent poll, five out of eight students said that it should be lifted, and three students said that they have mixed opinions about it.

“I have mixed opinions on this [ the phone ban ] because I feel like there is a reason we have it but at the same time we want to use our phone . It’s complicated,” Zoe, a junior at the iSchool, states. 

Overall, the phone ban affected students in different ways. For one it might not mean that much but for the other they may be so attached to their phones that this new lifestyle is hard to adjust to. In the future , the phone ban might go away or students might not even care anymore but soon or later we will all adjust to it . What do you think about the ban ?