Last March, when the Editorial Board first argued for statewide action, only two other states had done so. Only a year and a half later, 27 have.
The momentum within the Commonwealth is also building. Last year, when Rep. Barbara Gleim, R-Cumberland, introduced a bill banning cellphones in school, only eight other members co-sponsored it, all Republicans. This year, a similar bill introduced by Sen. Devlin Robinson, R-Bridgeville, has attracted 18 co-sponsors — that's nearly 40 percent of the Senate — more than half of whom are Democrats, including Leader Jay Costa, D-Forest Hills.
The reason for this tidal wave is simple: The proven costs of inaction are rising, and the benefits of enacting cellphone bans are being demonstrated across America.
CHILDREN IN CRISIS
Smartphones have been a disaster for young people. The psychologist Jonathan Haidt has collected statistics regarding the well-being of American youth since 2010, around the time smartphone use accelerated. Today, around 95 percent of American teens have access to a smartphone.
- From 2010 to 2021, the incidence of major depression increased 161 percent for teenage boys and 145 percent for teenage girls. By 2021, nearly 30 percent of adolescent girls experienced profound depression.
- From 2010 to 2020, the rates of seven kinds of mental illness or other condition increased substantially among U.S. undergraduate students: schizophrenia by 67 percent, substance abuse disorders by 33 percent, anorexia by 100 percent, bipolar disorder by 57 percent, ADHD by 72 percent, depression by 106 percent and anxiety by 134 percent.
- Between 2010 to 2020, 37 percent more boys aged 15 to 19, and 48 percent more girls of the same ages, were admitted to hospitals for acts of non-fatal self-harm. Among younger children, ages 10 to 14, the number of admissions increased 48 percent for boys and 188 percent for girls.
- During the same period, suicides among boys aged 15 to 19 increased 35 percent, while among girls they went up 64 percent. And for ages 10 to 14, suicides went up 109 percent for boys and 134 percent for girls.
These figures represent an unprecedented crisis never before seen in times of economic depression or war or any other social shock.
While causation is hard to prove, it stands to reason that these trends would be related to the emergence of a new technology that serves to distract people from their immediate surroundings; to replace in-person relationships with digital simulacra; to provide constant access to platforms teeming with predatory advertisements and "influencers"; and altogether to short-circuit the process of learning to live in society with others, and to come to understand and grow into one's place, in the real world.
GROWING SUPPORT
These effects are magnified in the school environment, which is both a place dedicated to learning and, for most young people, the primary place where socialization occurs. Smartphones work against both these purposes.
Last year, we discussed a 2024 Norwegian study that found a 50 percent drop in reports of bullying, and a 60 percent drop in mental-health visits among girls in particular, when phones were banned. In 2016, an English study found that student performance "significantly increases ... driven by the lowest-achieving students" when phone are banned — and those were much less capable and addictive devices than today's.
Anecdotal evidence matches the data. When a Catholic school in Scranton banned phones, the school president told WVIA Radio, "You can feel that energy in the building, in even the short time that we've been doing this." A nearby public school superintendent said the same after enacting a similar policy: "It's a little bit noisier in the building now at different points, but it's noise of kids conversing, kids getting to know one another."
This is why public opinion, and the opinion of the people in the room with students, has shifted dramatically on phones in schools. A National Education Association survey revealed that 90 percent of the teacher union's members favor banning phones in class, and 83 percent favor banning them all day. Among all adults, according to Pew, 74 percent favor classroom bans and 44 percent support bell-to-bell bans. Both figures increased 6 percent in the last year.
SAVING CHILDHOOD
Mr. Robinson's bill, Senate Bill 1014, takes the tougher approach of a full-day ban. This is the right move, and would place Pennsylvania squarely in the mainstream: Among the 27 states with blanket cellphone restrictions, 18 are full-day.
While class-time bans may help with focus during instruction, they don't help with the problem of short-circuited socialization. They're also much harder to enforce, with teachers having to monitor use in their own classrooms. A bell-to-bell ban allows for a once-per-day surrender and pick-up procedure.
The strongest argument against cellphone bans is the idea that they would be essential in emergencies, such as during an active shooter situation. While parents would naturally like to be in direct contact with their children, security experts say the proliferation of phones actually makes these incidents more chaotic: It's far better for there to be more controlled and reliable communication. Schools must be sure to develop efficient emergency communications strategies in advance of any phone bans.
Whatever comfort constant access to their children might provide to parents, the data — and the growing evidence of our own eyes and ears — is clear that the cost of cellphones in schools is far too high. The General Assembly should pass SB1014 quickly, so schools across the Commonwealth can prepare to implement it during the 2026-2027 school year.
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