As a life-long gamer that began in the arcades as a youth, it took me years to acknowledge that addictive behaviour and I now need to regulate my own use of technology stringently to ensure I do not get absorbed for hours and hours or even days in a game. Even when I was in university I would regulate my ‘rewards’ for finishing assignments or exams with strictly limited screen time. However, that was prior to the Age of the Cell Phone (insert dramatic music  here)!

Kritika and Maherun surmised that cell phones are an overwhelming distraction in the classroom environment. While that may seem like a minor inconvenience, an increasingly detrimental aspect is the effects cell phone usage has on mental health, with increased anxiety, depression, and social/emotional conflicts. Between negative mental health effects and cyberbullying, why are cell phones usage in education being encouraged at all?

Sadi argued that we are preparing students for the real world and future employment and suggested banning them in schools is absurd as banning them in the workplace. As someone who has worked in numerous employment practices where cell phones were indeed banned, I can personally attest that, working with children, it is an effective practice. We are modelling out our behaviour for the children we work with.

Can we expect parents to put down their phones and spend more quality time with their children? Nope, but we can expect someone getting paid to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the children they work with is their top priority. I have witnessed too many situations both in my current employment as an administrator and teacher as well as being an early childhood educator where staff are glued to their phones. It is an unnecessary and harmful distraction. This distraction is not only limited to children and leads to ineffective workplace practices. If adults cannot be trusted to focus as work, how can we expect children to do so?

While several members of the class claimed that cell phones are an integral tool with their teaching and should be used to support student learning, the evidence suggests otherwise. From suicidal thoughts and mental health struggles to addiction issues and socially harmful behaviours, I would argue cell phones have no place in the classroom. The struggle to self-regulate where technology is concerned is legitimately never-ending and I’m an adult with a strong capacity to reinforce boundaries on my own life! What can we do for the students we teach? Some have suggested they can be available outside the classroom as a compromise:

Am I the suggesting cell phones should be banned in the educational setting? YES! However, do I feel that is also true for technology in general? NO! Technology is an important teaching tool that can be used effectively to support students in ways that books and rote learning cannot. Some would argue that considering how rapidly tech changes, are we even being effective teaching our students about it, by the time they graduate, the tech will be obsolete! Yes! Because they will gain a familiarity with it and the confident to approach new tech with a lack of fear of the unknown. Go forth and conquer with technology in the classroom but first you must slay the meddling cell phone beast!