Phone bans increasing in popularity as concern about classroom screen time grows

There appears to be a brewing consensus about whether or not screens are a threat to learners in our nation's classrooms.

Amid a growing educational debate on tech's presence in schools, two new reports released today highlight widespread concern about the presence of screens and personal devices among school children. A new Pew Research poll found that a majority (77 percent) of Americans support policies that ban cell phone use during instruction periods, and around half support banning cellphones during the entire school day, also known as a “bell-to-bell” phone ban.

The same poll conducted in 2024 found only a third of Americans were in favor of bell-to-bell policies. Since then, support has increased across all age groups.

Meanwhile, teachers around the world are increasingly concerned about device use, according to the latest Global Education Insights Report conducted by education solutions giant McGraw Hill. Among 1,300 global educators surveyed by the company, the majority listed excessive screen time as the number one obstacle to student success.

Almost half of those polled said they have witnessed a decline in focus and emotional well-being among students compared to five years ago, and around two-thirds said they were concerned about their students' mental health.

A growing coalition of parents, child safety advocates, and even lawmakers have been calling for a reevaluation of device use in classrooms across the U.S., including pushing for new school policies that ban phones outright, limit screen time during specific school periods, and institute moratoriums on generative AI tools. They cite concerns about cognitive decline and critical thinking, as well as social and emotional regulation.

But there are many who believe shunning classroom technology completely is the wrong move. They see potential in technologies that are developmentally appropriate for their users while acknowledging screen time's effect on young brains. For example, a majority of teachers (81 percent) surveyed for the Global Education Insights Report said they were comfortable with students using AI when it is integrated into existing courseware or curriculum. Far fewer said they were in favor of students using general purpose AI tools like ChatGPT.

"The impact of social media and screen time is clear," Philip Moyer, president and CEO of McGraw Hill, said in a press release. "In the AI era, we have a responsibility to build tools that strengthen — not diminish — the teacher-student relationships, critical thinking, and human connection at the heart of learning."