When the Board of Education announced the mandatory district-wide cell phone policy in the summer of 2024, it sparked immediate online discussion about how this change would impact the upcoming school year. While most teachers and adults supported the policy, many students expressed hesitation. With the policy now in effect since the first day of school in September, how have students and teachers adjusted, and how do their perspectives differ?

There has been overwhelming support from the staff at Cherry Hill High School East for the new phone policy, as many teachers have linked the absence of phones in the classroom to increased student focus and attention.

“Last year, it was really challenging to teach students who weren’t engaged and were easily distracted by having their phones available,” said Mrs. Andrea Tierney, an art teacher at East.

In fact, some teachers had already taken steps to address the issue before the policy was implemented. Mrs. Susan McKee, a history teacher at East, for example, had introduced a phone caddy in her classroom prior to the policy change.

“Students who have access to their phone nearby will use it, so I try to prevent that opportunity for distraction. As a result, students were definitely more engaged,” said McKee.

While the policy has generally been well-received by teachers, there were initial concerns from instructors of classes like photography, art, and weightlifting, where phones play a critical role in the curriculum. In the early weeks of the school year, no exceptions to the policy were made, causing difficulty for teachers whose lessons required phone usage.

However, as the year progressed, administrators recognized these concerns and have begun working with teachers to create addendums that accommodate these specific needs.

“We’ve been able to collaborate with administration to discuss adjustments to the policy, particularly for classes like photography. Our curriculum was built around the use of cell phone cameras, and it wouldn’t make sense to completely cut that tool out,” explained Tierney, who also teaches photography.

As the student body adjusts to the new phone policy, most students have complied, acknowledging the administration’s rationale. However, many feel that the policy is overly strict and lacks flexibility.

“As a student, I will admit it helps me focus in class. But I think it’s a little too strict, especially since we can’t use our phones even when we go to the bathroom. That doesn’t make sense to me, especially if we get a message from a parent during class,” said Akiva Schostak (‘27).

The inability to communicate with parents during school hours has been a major concern for many students, particularly regarding safety.

“I think that until the school can guarantee my safety throughout the day, I should be able to have my phone in case of an emergency,” said Brielle Karsenty (‘27).

Other concerns about the policy’s strictness include students’ inability to use AirPods during independent work, difficulty submitting photos of assignments, and even checking the time. Despite these frustrations, most students agreed that the policy has improved their ability to concentrate in class.

One student, Jaiden Dalal (‘27), initially described the phone policy as “terrible,” but admitted that he has been able to focus more without his phone. However, he still expressed frustration with its overall strictness.

As the year progresses, the phone policy continues to evolve as both students and teachers adapt. While the initial concerns from both groups have been addressed to some extent, the debate over its strictness persists. Teachers appreciate the increased focus it brings, while students struggle with the loss of flexibility in their day-to-day routines.

The administration’s willingness to create addendums that allow for exceptions, particularly in classes where phones are essential, suggests that the policy will continue to be refined over time. Striking a balance between maintaining focus and allowing necessary access to phones may ultimately lead to a more harmonious learning environment for all.

Eden Boyd, a senior at Eastern Regional High School in Voorhees, NJ, gives her perspective on how the newly- instated cell phone policy is affecting her school. The cell phone policy has been enforced by a few teachers individually over the years, but it became a school-wide mandate this year. The policy at Eastern is similar to Cherry Hill High School East’s: heavy enforcement on no phones during class time or in the bathrooms. Some teachers, according to Boyd, allow their students to use their phones when the teacher is finished teaching, while others make students wait until the bell rings to dismiss the class. Also similar to East, at Eastern the students have to put their cell phones away right when class starts, and if a teacher finds them using one, it’s a write up.

“This year is definitely different from my last three years at Eastern, but not by that much. If anything, it makes me play more games on my iPad,” said Boyd. 

Every student at Eastern Regional High School is issued an iPad to use for school work, in class or at home, similar to East’s chromebooks. 

Boyd believes administrators at Eastern want students to be more focused on class work, have better face-to-face relationships with their peers, and to get rid of distractions. 

“Other kids have mixed feelings about the cell phone policy. Some enjoy it because it allows them to pay more attention to class, while others hate it. It just depends on who you ask.”

Personally, although Boyd thinks the cell phone policy is a bit annoying and a big change, she believes it will overall positively affect the study body at Eastern. 

“It’s a good idea that needs a bit of tinkering. Maybe let us take our phone to the bathroom.”

The year is 1973. Motorola has made a great breakthrough–a handheld device which allows for long-distance calls without needing any cables or wires whatsoever. Proud of his new invention, named the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X, head engineer Martin Cooper makes the first cellular phone call ever, unknowingly becoming a part of history. Cooper decides to ring up his competitors at Bell Labs, a company also working to create this coveted device, and informs them that he is calling via his company’s own cell phone. 

From then on, cell phones slowly began to increase in popularity and prevalence. A Japanese company, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone, launched the first cellular network, 1G, in 1979. In the next couple of years, countries in Scandinavia started to implement the technology. By 1983, the first 1G network was established in the United States, creating the possibility for cell phones to sweep the country. But it was not cell phones exactly–but rather car phones, that brought the technology to the American public’s attention. The fad reached its peak popularity in the 1980’s, and while it soon became obsolete due to great strides in cell phone development, it helped set the stage for the domination of cell phones in society.

While all of the technological components had been around for many years, a new cultural movement was born, bringing cell phones into the limelight. 1991 saw the creation of 2G, a stronger and faster network than its predecessor. Cell phones were now smaller, more portable, and had drastically better battery lives. Sales reached millions, and then tens of millions. Several more networks were established, each bringing new waves of innovation and raising industry standards. By the time Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone in 2007, cell phones had cemented their role as one of, if not the most, integral inventions in society. 

All of this success did not come without its fair share of controversies, though. 

By the mid 2000s, over half of all teenagers had their own cell phones. Concerns began to arise regarding the physical, but largely the mental aspect of teens spending hours upon hours of their day on their devices. Many sought action to prevent societal damage.

In the era of smartphones, these worries increased dramatically. New studies began to correlate excessive cell phone use with worse academic performance, as well as declined social lives and worsened health problems, such as posture, vision, and mobility issues. By 2010, over 90% of school districts had imposed some sort of cell phone restriction, in many cases outright banning them. 

Opposing this, a counter movement emerged, promoting the availability of cell phones during school. Composed mainly of students, but also gaining allies in parents, teachers, and politicians, many argued that students should be in charge of their own education, and that they should be allowed to use their cell phones so long as they were responsible for the consequences which may come from their actions. Others cited safety threats and rising gun violence in schools as necessitating the need for quick and easy communication. These arguments had a significant effect across the country, as by 2015 cell phone restrictions had declined to less than two-thirds of schools using them, with many large school districts including New York City Public Schools reversing their bans in favor of letting individual schools decide their policy.

In the long run, though, cell phone restrictions resurged. In 2023, Florida became the first state to impose a state-wide ban on cell phone usage in schools. Nine other states have since followed suit.

“Social media [causes] more problems than it solves, and I think it causes more harm than good,” said Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL). “So, let’s have our education system be as much about traditional education as we can.”

When the Cherry Hill Board of Education voted in favor of a strict cell phone policy in June 2024, it provoked controversy among students, faculty, and other residents. However, it is important to keep in mind that this decision was not an isolated incident, but rather a small ripple in the ever-changing and ever-increasing tide of national opinions on cell phone usage in schools.

We live in a world where our entire lives are spent on cell phones. They’ve become not just devices we casually use; they’ve become a major part of each one of us. We carry them everywhere with us, use them constantly, and rely on them to stay in touch with the world. But as our screen time increases, so does the psychological toll they can have on our brains.

Cherry Hill High School East recently implemented the Board of Education’s new cell phone policy, banning phones during learning periods, and according to psychology teacher Mrs. Sheri Orlando, it’s a needed change for students’ mental well-being.

“I think it was a really good decision,” Orlando said. “If everybody supports it, students don’t feel weird if they’re the only ones who aren’t on their phones…it’s kind of freeing.”

The goal of this new policy is simple: encourage students to focus and engage more in class without the distraction of using their cell phones. Orlando shared that multitasking, using cell phones in class while attempting to listen to the teacher, is counterproductive. 

“Multitasking isn’t really a thing. You can’t do two things at once. And there’s research that supports that it often makes people more anxious because you’re never fully engaged,” Orlando explained.

As a matter of fact, the psychological pressure of dealing with schoolwork while using a cell phone can be damaging during adolescense, a time where the brain’s frontal lobe, a part of the brain to help you make informed decisions, is still developing. Especially with teens, who are highly driven by emotions, the excessive phone usage only increases those emotional responses. The result? Stress and procrastination.

Social media, another aspect to phone addiction, creates a false illusion of perfection.

 “Social media gives a false sense of reality,” Orlando said. “People put out the best version of their lives… and then others think their own lives are lacking by comparison.” 

This image of a perfect reality can damage one’s self-esteem, or make them feel like they are missing out on what may be portrayed as a stereotypical experience. 

But East’s phone ban may offer a solution to the phone problem.

 “No phones during class means you’re present and engaged,” Orlando said. “Maybe you’re feeling a little happier because you don’t have to spend as many hours studying on [what you missed] in class.”

This addiction to screens, phones in particular, is associated with dopamine, the neurotransmitter relating to reward, and it’s released every time we use our phones. This creates a cycle of addiction where we need more screen time in order to get the same dopamine hit. It almost becomes a mental addiction; hard to break, especially when one may not have the ability to control their screen habits.

In the classroom, this could mean the difference between academic success and stress-related burnout. The new phone policy may not be the most popular decision among students, but it’s one that may help in the step toward a better mental health for them. 

Interacting with one another rather than hiding behind a screen could not only benefit our mental health, but go back to what once was prior to any phone addiction.

Because as Orlando puts it, “We are not made to be isolated behind a screen. We are designed to interact with each other.” 

And that is what this policy will help us to do.