A wireless CEO says it’s time to ban phones in classrooms

Want to know the worst kept secret in Silicon Valley? The leaders of the biggest technology companies in the world don’t let their kids use technology, especially in school.

As an MIT psychologist explained, it’s because tech titans are especially aware of the negative effects on young minds still in their formative stages. While all “screens” present a double-edged sword in the learning environment, it’s the students’ own phones that have become most problematic.

This issue is personal for me because I have spent my career working to democratize access to mobile technology. As the founder and CEO of two mobile operators, my professional goal is to provide affordable mobile connection to as many people as possible. Which is why my next statement may seem strange, but I am a father first and a businessman second.

I support a nationwide ban on mobile phone use by students during school hours.

The negative effects of phone use and social media on youth mental health are now well documented, and Mark Zuckerberg’s recent mea culpa in front of Congress is validation that these companies know they have a serious problem on their hands.

But the problem of phones in schools is even more fundamental — it is detrimental to learning itself. A recent piece in the Atlanticshows that the most comprehensive global benchmark of academic performance has been declining since 2012 across all countries. The study concluded that screen device usage was a major reason for this drop, and that the amount of time students spent on screens had a significantly negative effect on academic performance. For example, students who spent less than an hour a day on screen devices scored 50 points higher on math exams than those who spent more than five hours a day on devices.

Australia instituted a nationwide ban on mobile phones in all public high schools and is now starting to see the benefits with better academic scores, more social interaction and improved student wellbeing. Countries like Belgium, France, Spain and the UK have gone the same route, and a recent United Nations report urged every country to enact similar restrictions.

There has been a grassroots movement in America to do the same. In 2020, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, 77 percent of schools in the U.S. had some kind of cellphone ban. States like California, Florida and Tennessee have allowed, but not mandated, public schools to limit the student use of smartphones. Some districts in Alabama, Colorado, Maryland and Ohio have also adopted restrictions.

But a state-by-state and district-by-district approach is a patchwork solution. And social media companies are only part of the equation.

Mobile carriers must speak with one voice and lobby Congress for a national law. It is our ethical and moral responsibility to recognize K-12 schools as places where mobile phones can have a detrimental effect.

In November, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) introduced a promising bipartisan bill, the Focus on Learning Act. The legislation would require the Department of Education to study school phone use and its effects on performance, engagement and mental health, guided by input from parents, students and educators. This is a step in the right direction, but we must do more. The mental health and education of our children is something both sides of the aisle should support.

School is the most important environment in a young person’s life, where optimal learning can change the course of their future. To my fellow mobile carrier leaders, I say it’s time to unite. Support the Cotton/Kaine legislation. Bring your voices to Capitol Hill. Show customers you recognize the value in limiting cell phone use when the end result is the limitless potential of our children.

Peter Adderton is the founder of Boost Mobile and the CEO of MobileX.