Reasons Not to Have Cell Phones in Schools

Students with cell phones can chat with friends instead of studying.

Supporters of cell phones in school argue a cell phone is a necessity in the modern age. For their own safety, proponents say, students should be free to contact their parents, for example, or phone the police in an emergency. For some students, it's a matter of basic rights. But while these are valid reasons for allowing cell phones in schools, critics have pointed to some disadvantages of a pro-phone policy, too.

Disruption

Cell phones can have a disruptive influence in class. Even if a student isn't using the phone, it could ring and interrupt the teacher or distract the owner and other children from learning. Students inevitably face the temptation to use their phones when they should be learning, which damages their own education and is fair neither to other students nor the teacher. The easiest way to deal with the potential nuisance of cell phones is not to allow them in school.

Social Inequality and Bullying

One argument in favor of school uniforms is the more freedom you give students in what they wear, the more you expose inequalities, singling out children from poorer backgrounds. You can argue the same about technology. Students who can't afford expensive devices such as smartphones may appear and feel inferior, making them a target for bullying and isolating them from their peers.

Theft

Any expensive items brought into school increase the risk of theft. The fewer expensive or desirable items a child brings to school, the safer he or she is from potential thieves and the associated risks of physical assault. Schools can always provide extra measures to help students protect personal property, but that means more expense.

Too Complicated

At one time, cell phones simply allowed communication by phone and text. Now, most cell phones are more like smartphones, with Internet access, games, cameras, music players and other functions. Allowing cell phones in schools opens up the difficult question of where to draw the line. A phone can easily become a device for taking photos and videos, for example, later used to bully or humiliate children. Having a consistent rule about appropriate devices is problematic.

Redundancy

Ultimately, the question of whether schools should allow students to bring in cell phones may come down to whether they serve a useful purpose. An argument against allowing phones is they are unnecessary. Schools provide phones for students to use in case of an emergency, and children don't need to make social phone calls from school.

References

• "Camera Cell Phones in Schools"; Katherine Brooks