Last May, Florida passed a law that required its school districts to ban cell phones in the classroom. Recently, Orange County, Florida, went one step further and banned the use of cell phones for the entire school day, including lunch and passing periods. It was this decision that sparked much of the controversy surrounding this development.

Many in Florida, particularly teachers and parents, have supported the ban, saying it results in lowered rates of bullying, more classroom participation, overall better student performance, and more social interaction. Much of the controversy lies in the students’ reactions, which vary from mild indignation to outrage.

A recent article by the New York Times encouraged teenagers to voice their opinions on the ban in Florida. The responses tend to highlight three main points. 

First of all, they state the necessity of cell phones in an emergency. With the meteoric rise in school shootings in the last several years, the ability to contact a loved one is of undoubtable value. Prohibiting cell phones would severely restrict students’ ability to reach those people.

The second point frequently cited is the responsibility of carrying such a distracting device. As one person puts it, “Not being able to use cell phones [sic] in schools takes away the sense of responsibility that comes with being allowed to use it but deciding to listen to a lesson instead.” While high school students need to have responsibilities, the problem is that students often abuse them. They have the choice to either pay attention in class or scroll through their phone, and many, unfortunately, choose the latter.

The third point was that school is simply too “boring without smartphones.” The third point is sufficiently summed up by one of the student commenters, who said that “cell phones have always been a problem with schools from the start because sometimes schools are boring.” This rather glosses over the issue’s complexity, but it raises an interesting point. Perhaps cell phones aren’t the problem. Some suggest that schools should make an effort to make classes more engaging.

As another comment said, “Before [cell phones’] conception, students have been zoning out and finding fun things to do while class is going on. This could’ve been seen as leaning over to talk, passing notes, or even playing tic tac toe against themself.” Banning cellphones may alleviate a lot of the distractions, but as yet another commenter wrote, “if it came down to it, I would most likely find another way to occupy my time.” Apparently, as students, we will look for any way we can to avoid class.

Some students have suggested a middle ground in which cell phones would be banned in the classroom but permitted in the halls and at lunch. An interesting, albeit quite radical, take was that of the student who suggested that “depending on your grade, you should have more or less restrictions on phone use.” Of course, this opens up a host of problems with maintaining such an up-to-date track of students’ grades and the implicit inequity of such a system.

While it is uncertain if a cellphone ban may be coming to Paschal, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for students to brace themselves for the possibility. It is easy to turn against something we disagree with quickly, but many of the Floridians’ touted benefits have merit. 

If a cell phone ban should come to Paschal, students may be better off simply accepting it. It may be tricky to determine what to do without your cell phone, but think of it this way: for tens of thousands of years, humanity got by without phones. In the last fifteen or so years, smartphones have come onto the scene. Even a generation ago, people grew up and lived their lives without smartphones. 

We may be too entrenched in smartphones today to step back that far, but perhaps we can accept giving them up for a few hours during the day.