Do you have a phone? Have you ever broken any rule to be on or do something on that phone? My bet is yes. We are all human and we mess up. But, if we never had that phone to tempt us, wouldn’t that be better? This is why phones should be banned at school.

I am no scientist but I have seen people on their phones when they shouldn’t be and know that they spend hours on them. According to the Washington Post: “ On average, American 8-to-12-year-olds spend 4 hours and 44 minutes on screen media each day. And teens average 7 hours and 22 minutes — not including time spent using screens for school or homework.”. In that almost five hours on screens wasting time you could sleep, study, spend time with family and friends, or even go outside and play.

At school, you could be playing on your phone instead of paying attention and that will affect your grades and hurt you. According to Oxford, ”Students check their phones in the classroom an average of more than 11 times a day. That can add up to a lot of time spent distracted from schoolwork. And when students are distracted, it’s a recipe for extra stress, frustration, and catch-up time for everyone.” If you have bad grades that could affect your future. Employers and Colleges will look at that kind of stuff to see if you are a good candidate.

For my final point, having phones can make cheating at school easier. As we know kids aren’t just checking their phones but also using them in class. According to Verywell Family: “35% of teens admit to using their smartphones to cheat on homework or tests, according to a Pew Research Center study 65% of the same surveyed students also stated they have seen others use their phones to cheat in school.” Obviously, it is a common action and should be stopped.

Not only are we now on phones for way too many hours but phones are also leading to not paying attention and cheating. Clearly, phones should only be given to kids that are either trustworthy or for emergency reasons. If we can’t at least stop kids from using phones then we should at least ban them from schools.