New York state banned smartphones in schools this September, and teachers are weeping tears of joy.
As New York Magazine reports, while the bell-to-bell ban was intended to foster a distraction-free learning environment, it’s also allowing old-fashioned human socializing to flourish — buoyant findings as similar bans sweep the United States and elsewhere across the globe.
All of a sudden, kids are playing cards at lunch — and hell, even board games. They’re trying their hand at sports, discovering the joys of old-school analog tech, and even a little no-stakes gambling. In general, the vibes are way, way up.
“We’ve had a lot more school spirit,” says Rosalmi, a senior at New Heights Academy Charter School in Harlem. “People are more willing to do stuff.”
Rosalmi’s preferred phone-free pastime is dominoes, which has become a hit during lunch breaks, as much for its actual gameplay as it is an excuse for fun trash talk.
“Dominoes is really a staple Dominican game,” she told NYMag. “People get passionate. You have to slam that first piece down on the table!”
Kevin Casado, a coach and teacher at Math, Engineering, and Science Academy Charter High School in Bushwick, said that more kids are playing volleyball during lunch, with an “equal number of girls and boys,” he told NYMag.
At Brooklyn Technical High School, some kids have taken up poker, betting with hair ties instead of cash. The games are so exciting that some students stop to watch and even place bets.
Noshin Sayiram, a junior at Stuyvesant High School, told NYMag that when the phones were first banned, there was a lot of grumbling from students that without their devices, it was more cumbersome to cram homework — or last minute quiz prep — between classes. Now, she prints out her study guides and finds that paper is way more effective for learning. “I don’t get distracted by notifications,” she told NYMag.
The long-term effects of smartphones, social media, addictive apps, and now, AI chatbots, are still being explored. But the picture being painted by research so far is damning.
A recent study in the journal Pediatrics found that children 12 years old and younger who received a smartphone were at a higher risk of depression, obesity, and sleep deprivation, with the risks increasing the younger the age they first start using the devices at. Another study that followed nine to ten year olds over four years found a strong link between their screen time and diagnoses of ADHD. And another study linked heavy ChatGPT usage with memory loss and tanking grades.
Banning phones may be a drastic intervention, but it’s hard to argue with the results. Ninth-grader Aidan Amin is in a friend group that plays Sorry!and OK Play during lunch, and feels more in tune with his peers than ever.
“I’d say it’s made us closer,” Aidan, who attends Hunter College High School, said of the phone ban. “Honestly, half the people I’m playing board games with I didn’t know at all before this.”
More on devices:Here’s an Interesting Theory About Why Kids’ Test Results Have Fallen to Their Lowest Point in Two Decades
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