Pondering the Phone Policy by Stephanie Taylor

“This is happening everywhere. It’s a statewide conversation, it’s a national conversation, it’s probably even going on around the world,” Mrs. Macomber said. “We’re now seeing the effects that social media and the phones have on all of us.”

For the first few weeks of school, the CHS phone policy has been bored into student’s brains. Twice a day every day the loudspeakers beep, and the entire school lets out a sigh of exasperation as, “We would like to take this moment to remind students about the CHS phone policy” rings out across the school.

For many students, the policy is just there. No phones during class. It’s simply a rule that is followed without much thought, even though it can be a little bit annoying hearing about it every day.

“I honestly don’t mind the policy,” one student said. “It’s just the fact that it gets repeated every day.”

“They don’t need to announce it every single day,” another student added.

But not many people think about why this policy exists. The truth is, the phone policy truly is in the best interests of students, and it has had astounding results. Knowing why this policy came to be in our school is a big step to understanding it, and seeing the effect it has on the student body can absolutely increase a person’s respect for it.

This policy is not a new thing. Actually, Coventry High School has been using it’s phone policy for 5 years now, and the change has only been in how it’s enforced. And the enforcement has changed drastically from even last year.

“Last year you could have [your phone] out and not be on it, and you’d be fine,” one senior commented. “But this year, they see it: they take it.”

Another student mentioned that “Last year it didn’t really exist. [The policy] was only enforced in the hallway.”

Mrs. Macomber, Coventry High School’s principal, says that the phone policy has declined in the years since Covid. “It was very well enforced the first year we had it in place. Then Covid hit.” She went on to explain that it was important for students to have technology on them when they were coming in every other day and didn’t always have their chromebooks on them. Covid was a crazy time for everybody, and there was a worldwide need to adjust to the different circumstances. CHS’s adjustments included allowing students to use their phones for schoolwork. Even after the pandemic was over, the school had gotten away from strictly enforcing the phone policy, and it was a lot more lenient. But since more and more data and research have been done on the effects phones and social media have on adolescents in recent years, it opened the school’s eyes to the importance of restriction. “I’m so concerned about the mental health issues caused by the phones,” Mrs. Macomber said. 

One teacher at Coventry High School did research onto the specific effects social media has, and the data is absolutely astounding. Around the time where social media became a widespread thing, depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses in teens have gone up by crazy percentages. Since 2010, depression has gone up 145% in girls and hospitalizations for self harm has gone up 188%. For boys, depression has gone up by 161%.

Things like bullying and peer pressure have always existed in schools, but students could always go home after school and get a break from constant judgment from their classmates. But since social media was invented, kids are exposed to that 24/7. Cyberbullying was a brand new problem that had never existed before. In the words of Mr. Golas, the science teacher who did this research, it’s as if Facebook and Instagram invented windows for both peers and adult strangers to look into teenagers’ rooms and criticize everything they do. In addition to this, studies show that phones cause sleep and attention deprivation, which makes paying attention in school so much harder for students.

“This is happening everywhere. It’s a statewide conversation, it’s a national conversation, it’s probably even going on around the world,” Mrs. Macomber said. “We’re now seeing the effects that social media and the phones have on all of us.”

The phone policy at CHS is a way for the school to help students. It’s not a punishment, but rather a way to help them learn, and establish important social skills. 85% of human communication comes from body language, which can’t be expressed over phone and declines both in kids and adults in person because they’re not used to it. Teachers throughout the entire school have noticed changes in student interactions with the stricter phone policy. Kids make eye contact with each other while speaking where they hadn’t before. They’re paying attention in class when they don’t have their phones buzzing in their pockets to distract them. According to Mrs. Macomber, when having an honest conversation with students, they actually feel like putting their phones away help them pay attention in class, and generally have a positive outlook on the policy. 

“I do think that most kids know that this is good for them. They recognize that.” The students in CHS notice changes in their peers with the stricter enforcement as well. 

“I think I see people sneaking their phones less this year compared to last,” a senior commented. Mrs. Macomber says that teachers are seening less traffic in the hallways during class time. Students arent going to the bathroom as much to presumably use their phones.

The announcements on the loudspeaker are a way for the entire school to be on the same page. This way, no singular teacher has to be the ‘bad guy.’ Mrs. Macomber says that she expects students to follow the policy, she expects the techers and staff to follow it, and the announcements help everyone to know that.

Overall, the phone policy at Coventy High School has had positive effects on the student body. While sure, it can be annoying, it really is a good thing for students to get a break from their social media and pay attention during class, and socialize with their peers in person. So the next time you find yourself groaning at the phone policy announcement, think about why it’s there, think about how it has been improving the school, and maybe realize it’s not so bad after all.