I get why some people roll their eyes at yet another adult talking about phones. So let’s start with music, not school. Artists from Adele to Bob Dylan have tried “no-phone” shows, and Sabrina Carpenter recently said she’s seriously considering it after experiencing the difference at a Silk Sonic concert. “It might piss off my fans,” she joked, “but it felt better to be present.”
If you want to have fun, care deeply, or truly learn, you have to let go of distractions and be all in. Presence is the point. Even my cat knows to sit between me and the screen when I’m zoning out.
In classrooms across the globe, this tug-of-war for attention is pernicious. A growing number of teachers and school leaders share this concern. In the U.S., 72% of high school teachers say cellphone distraction is a major classroom problem. More than half of school leaders report that phones are hurting academic performance, and most schools now restrict their use, at least during class time.
Precious Ojo, a curaJOY student fellow from Nigeria, told me, “On days I don’t bring my phone, I feel more focused. But once that phone is in my pocket? I’m tempted to scroll.” Neurodivergent teen Bianca Shen added, “Many times, my teacher had to stop the lesson because someone was playing Clash of Clans.”
All the students I spoke with recognized, although sometimes unwillingly, the need for limits during instruction. Bianca described how phones interfere with face-to-face conversations, making her feel undervalued. “It’s sad I have to compete with a handheld object for my friend’s attention,” she said.
But students also pointed to valid exceptions: medical needs, urgent family situations, and school safety. “In certain situations,” Bianca noted, “it might be better for the student to call the parent straight away.”
Why “Just Ban Them” Isn’t a Silver Bullet
Outright bans often backfire, partly because schools themselves have come to rely on digital systems for critical workflows like IDs, hall passes, and club check-ins. When the infrastructure doesn’t adequately support in-person alternatives, students can’t effectively lead activities like student government. Families may have to spend extra time and money on physical IDs or miss out on school spirit events.
Meanwhile, states are investing heavily in enforcement. New York’s governor, for example, proposed $13.5 million to support smartphone-free schools. But those dollars will only work if policy is paired with culture-building. We need coordinated collective action that enables schools and families to adopt a balanced approach and prepares them to answer questions like, “How will policies be enforced, and who will be accountable?”
Even the supporting research is nuanced. Reviews show phones can erode attention and sleep and are linked to lower performance when students media-multitask. Yet blanket bans show mixed effects, with outcomes hinging on implementation and school culture. A 2025 study in The Lancet Regional Health – Europe found restrictive policies alone did not improve students’ mental health or achievement, pointing to the need for broader strategies that include education, design changes, and family partnership.
Why “Just Try Harder” Is a Trap
When we give young people smartphones and then ask them to exercise self-restraint, their failure to do so isn’t defiance—it’s the result of imposing restrictions without providing the necessary skills or a sense of shared ownership. We’ve set them up to fail. Adolescents are still developing executive functions—planning, impulse control, shifting attention—the very systems that apps and social media are designed to target.
Phones aren’t the enemy. Distraction is. The real work is to rebuild attention together—with policies students co-author, adults consistently model, and systems that don’t accidentally punish the most vulnerable.
School districts and parents have tried bans, content restrictions, and timers. “I don’t believe ‘phone-free’ by itself is the answer,” said Clarissa Shen, a high school senior, mental health advocate, and curaJOY’s youth co-founder. “Kids seek to understand. If they don’t believe in the rules, they won’t follow them.”
Indeed, for any policy on technology, enforcement depends more on relationships and understanding than on infrastructure. Kids are smart—they’ll find ways around restrictions unless they help design the rules, see adults modeling the behavior, and learn the self-regulation skills to make those rules stick.
This is where skill-building and youth agency become critical. Instead of just removing the distraction, we need to strengthen the mental muscles that manage it. That’s why our work at curaJOY focuses on translating campus norms into daily “quests” that build executive function. We provide teens with practical, in-the-moment strategies and offer toolkits that let students co-design norms and run peer campaigns. Any policy a school chooses is stronger when reinforced by these layers of skill and ownership.
It’s a Culture Issue, Not a Tech Issue
This is where we usually get it wrong: we treat phone policies as a tech issue. What we ask students to give up (instant connection, a sense of safety, autonomy) has to be matched by what we build up (trust, consistency, and meaningful alternatives).
This isn’t about choosing between “phones” or “learning.” It’s about the kind of culture we create together—one that treats teens as partners, not problems, and values presence as much as performance. At curaJOY, we help schools move beyond the cat-and-mouse game of phone bans. We focus on building the skills that make attention possible—executive function, self-regulation, and pro-social norms—all co-created with students, supporting them throughout the day with our clinician-supervised AI-powered coaching.
When students help design the rule, they’re far more likely to own the habit. And when adults hold ourselves to the same standard, trust grows.
The debate over school phone policies is not just about technology—it’s about trust, respect, and the kind of learning environments we want. Have you ever tried talking to your child, boss, or friend, only to see them looking at their phone instead of you? Teachers can’t teach effectively if students are distracted. Students can’t learn from each other if they don’t treasure the precious face-to-face time they have.
Let’s Build Together
If you’re a school leader in California, invite us to run a Student Listening Lab. In under an hour, a mixed group of students and teachers will surface what’s working, what isn’t, and draft three to five shared norms. You’ll receive a two-page brief and a simple rollout plan—and maybe start a new chapter of genuine presence on your campus.
Let’s move beyond control and toward connection.
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