COLUMN: An unlikely revolution is brewing to ban phones in school, writes our politics bureau chief Jonathan Martin. Martin on how Jonathan Haidt’s “The Anxious Generation” is uniting the left and right 👇
Replies
If they ban phones in schools, how will the kids alert anyone to the presence of an active shooter or tell their moms they love them just before being obliterated by several rounds from an assault rifle?
sep 2, 2025, 3:00 pm • 0 0 • view
This shouldn't even be debatable. But America's ignorance and narcissim knows no bounds and no age limits.
sep 2, 2025, 1:15 pm • 0 0 • view
I'm thinking the ban on phones is for an ulterior motive other than to combat "distraction" from social media. Wish the states would ban the proven threat to school children....and that's firearms.
sep 2, 2025, 3:35 pm • 0 0 • view
An alternative would be flip phones only for school age children. They can call or text, but that’s it.
sep 2, 2025, 2:23 pm • 1 0 • view
maybe a ban on phones - apart from when using them to record the bad or abusive behaviour of teachers - does make some sense..
sep 2, 2025, 1:02 pm • 1 0 • view
"Today’s right is animated almost wholly by backlash to the real and perceived excesses of the left, particularly on culture." couldn't find where you list the real cultural excesses of the left. i assume you mean "faggots" or some other slur?
sep 2, 2025, 1:12 pm • 3 1 • view
Please stop saying it's just Republicans. It's not. I'm in a solid blue state that's doing it. Also, phones during lessons is distracting to everyone and disrespectful to anyone trying to teach and learn. I'm not fond of a ban, but good sense should tell anyone they should be put away during class.
sep 2, 2025, 2:59 pm • 1 0 • view
That was for the commenters blaming Reps -- not for the article itself, btw.
sep 2, 2025, 3:00 pm • 0 0 • view
When there are no more school shootings, then they won't need their phones at school.
sep 2, 2025, 1:07 pm • 14 2 • view
Only the adults need phones even in that remote scenario
sep 2, 2025, 6:03 pm • 1 0 • view
Not so remote scenario: the special Ed bus took my kid to the bus depot instead of home. Only reason I knew was because he had his phone. He didn't freak out about it right then, but every school day after he'd have a full on panic attack if he didn't have his phone on him on the way to school.
sep 2, 2025, 7:13 pm • 2 0 • view
Haidt wasn't the only person to come up with this idea...
sep 2, 2025, 12:58 pm • 1 0 • view
You have TWO issues. • banning phones in schools may assist with studies, BUT • until you recognize that a phone may save your child from gun death, you have a more urgent situation. There’s bot a parent out here who wouldn’t want one last call before trump/NRA gets their child killed.
sep 2, 2025, 1:51 pm • 0 0 • view
My children’s school started collecting phones in homeroom and returned them at the end of the day. Even my kids admitted they liked the policy because they didn’t have the pressure to check/answer texts. I did get them Apple Watches for emergencies (you know what type).
sep 2, 2025, 1:03 pm • 5 1 • view
How else are they going to call their parents when the police fail to stop an active shooter?
sep 2, 2025, 2:33 pm • 3 0 • view
I can't even see how a classroom can function when a teacher has to compete with cellphones. Get the phones out of the schools. 😼🦇
sep 2, 2025, 12:59 pm • 3 0 • view
Get the GUNS out first.
sep 2, 2025, 1:23 pm • 3 1 • view
Those, too! 😼🦇
sep 2, 2025, 6:24 pm • 0 0 • view
Phones can be kept in slots in the classroom i heartily agree that teachers are there to teach not police students that refuse to quit using their Phones in the classroom i almost hit a kid who walked off the sidewalk in front of me because she had her face stuck in her phone it was unnerving
sep 2, 2025, 3:39 pm • 0 0 • view
I'm so warried my engagement is really low yet my rescues are hungry kindly support my shelter
sep 2, 2025, 2:01 pm • 0 0 • view
Oh yeah, we're just anxious for no fucking reason. It isnt the at least one a day mass shootings, or the school shootings, or the people snatching people off the street or 600 kids being sent to places they probably have never been unaccompanied. Nope, it isnt any of these things. Its the phones/s
sep 2, 2025, 1:51 pm • 3 0 • view
I was thinking of mass shootings, I didn't even stop to think about ICE. I hate this timeline.
sep 2, 2025, 7:14 pm • 1 0 • view
no distractions in class, we need our children to learn the skills they will need to prevent another DT
sep 2, 2025, 12:59 pm • 1 0 • view
All the better to victimize them.
sep 2, 2025, 1:51 pm • 0 0 • view
I don't even want to read that. I prefer the anecdote posted here a couple of days ago-- and I would absolutely have wanted my kids to have phones in school, if they'd been in school when kids having phones became commonplace:
sep 2, 2025, 1:20 pm • 2 1 • view
As a retired teacher, I thank you @jonathanhaidt.bsky.social
sep 2, 2025, 5:02 pm • 0 0 • view
I've read some of this and I disagree. He's old and old people don't understand society. Instead of trying to fix society, his solution is to take away smart phones. Just like republicans answer to people not having kids is to ban abortion. That's not going to make more people have kids.
sep 2, 2025, 2:07 pm • 1 0 • view
There are issues in society. Poverty, gang violence, poverty. They care so much about depression and mental health, that must be the reason they keep cutting funding for after school programs and mental health institutions. If your solution to anything doesn't start with fixing society, it's wrong
sep 2, 2025, 2:07 pm • 0 0 • view
So-republicans don’t want the kids to have phones in schools but could care less that they are being slaughtered by ridiculously stupid assault weapons freedoms.
sep 2, 2025, 1:21 pm • 6 1 • view
Perfect description of Republicans aka the most vile creatures on the planet.
sep 2, 2025, 1:25 pm • 1 1 • view
A revolution? Hardly.
sep 2, 2025, 1:16 pm • 1 0 • view
They can take phones from kids but they can’t keep them safe from gunmen. What the fuck are these priorities?!
sep 2, 2025, 3:37 pm • 2 0 • view
I don’t believe this issue is as black-and-white as Haidt describes. Yes, phones can be a distraction. But they also help students feel a tiny bit safer, less trapped, in an environment where leadership often fails to keep them safe.
sep 2, 2025, 2:44 pm • 2 0 • view
Not to mention I can't see parents being overly pleased with this policy.
sep 2, 2025, 3:37 pm • 1 0 • view
How about letting them wear a smart watch?
sep 2, 2025, 3:33 pm • 0 0 • view
I WANT kids to have their phones in school! Because we have GUNS getting into schools. Just require the phones be put away in their backpacks. How is this difficult?
sep 2, 2025, 3:00 pm • 7 0 • view
news.utexas.edu/2017/06/26/t...
sep 2, 2025, 3:38 pm • 1 0 • view
Yes this is definitely how you fix the issues affecting the U.S...
sep 2, 2025, 9:34 pm • 0 0 • view
Now life has thrown me more than I can handle, and I would never reach out if this weren’t urgent. It weighs heavily on my heart — but I still trust in our compassion and shared humanity. Your kindness could make all the difference. If you can help🙏💙 gofund.me/0af928df
sep 2, 2025, 2:28 pm • 0 0 • view
Big mistake. I understand why phones are distraction. They are also a lifeline when active shooters happen which is every day in AmeriKKKa. Maybe they should fucking think about banning guns first and then ban the phones.
sep 2, 2025, 2:10 pm • 2 0 • view
I work in a district with a no phone policy. Students keep their phones in their backpacks. It's working out well.
sep 2, 2025, 1:23 pm • 0 0 • view
When they keep guns out of school then we can talk about keeping phones out of school.
sep 2, 2025, 12:46 pm • 39 2 • view
Just came here to say that. Until then, we should at least give our kids a chance to say goodbye before they're gunned down by someone's 2A rights.
sep 2, 2025, 4:18 pm • 0 0 • view
Thank you. Exactly my thoughts v
sep 2, 2025, 2:10 pm • 2 0 • view
Phones seem pretty bad at stopping school shootings
sep 2, 2025, 4:28 pm • 0 0 • view
It’s great not having phones in school. Kids don’t need them at all
sep 2, 2025, 5:55 pm • 0 0 • view
Funny, when I went to school there were no phones or calculators...how did I survive??? Guess I was there to get educated and nothing more.
sep 2, 2025, 12:54 pm • 1 0 • view
Actually its not funny. Your classroom was smaller and you didn't routinely worry about school shootings...
sep 2, 2025, 1:15 pm • 3 1 • view
It's not funny ha ha. It is funny that people like you actually defend an ignorant and narcissistic society.
sep 2, 2025, 1:18 pm • 0 0 • view
Our class was 25 to 30 students. No shootings, just nuclear missiles...duck and cover!
sep 2, 2025, 9:31 pm • 0 0 • view
I'm not a parent, but with how often school shootings occur, when I do have a kid, I would want them to have contact with the outside world. You can give your kid a phone that only makes calls during certain times of the day and can restrict the people the phone can contact.
sep 2, 2025, 1:12 pm • 3 1 • view
Seems like a great idea until a mass shooting happens and parents can't get a hold of their kids
sep 2, 2025, 2:28 pm • 4 0 • view
People in the comments acting like kids need to scroll tik tok in every class because of school shootings
sep 2, 2025, 4:29 pm • 0 0 • view
My main concern with this is what happens during another school shooting when the kids can't call for help?
sep 2, 2025, 5:12 pm • 0 0 • view
When will any political party care about safety of children in schools? Read about violence against LGBTQ children in public schools. Lot of LGBTQ children have committed suicide because ACLU, Democratic Party denied them usage of vouchers for home schooling, safe schools, safe religious schools.
sep 2, 2025, 2:37 pm • 1 0 • view
So who to vote for to change this?
sep 2, 2025, 3:46 pm • 0 0 • view
They did this in a few schools in Ireland and after 6 weeks they found that at break time the students were all standing around talking to each other. Bullying also declined. When the students were asked their thoughts they all agreed that they enjoyed the break.
sep 2, 2025, 2:37 pm • 0 0 • view
They were banned when I attended school. Class of 2011. Not sure when they suddenly started being allowed.
sep 2, 2025, 2:03 pm • 0 0 • view
Ban school shooters and guns first.
sep 2, 2025, 2:35 pm • 4 0 • view
Seriously, what idiot came up with the idea that children should have the use of cell phones while in school? I didn't even taken my cell phone out of my purse at work until my dad was in the hospital and I was waiting for that call. My kids didn't get cell phones until they went to college.
sep 2, 2025, 2:02 pm • 0 0 • view
Stick them in a locker, check them at breaks and lunch. If you're parents are desperate to contact you phone the school. If you break the rules, you get detention. I fixed it for you. Seemed pretty straight forward.
sep 2, 2025, 12:48 pm • 3 0 • view
'your' not 'you're'. Obviously I was too busy on my phone at school!
sep 2, 2025, 12:50 pm • 1 0 • view
This was how my son's school operated when he was in public school. If you got it out in class it was detention. It seemed to work pretty well.
sep 2, 2025, 7:17 pm • 0 0 • view
Priorities are….shall we say…FUBAR? #idiocracy #climatechange #eattherich
sep 2, 2025, 3:37 pm • 0 0 • view
Is brewing? A little late to the party since the article concedes most states have already passed legislation on this matter.
sep 2, 2025, 1:56 pm • 0 0 • view
Yeah let's focus on taking away communication tools useful during the regularly-occuring school shootings instead of *ANYTHING ELSE USEFUL*
sep 2, 2025, 12:55 pm • 18 2 • view
They are useful for adults, not kids. Glad we banned them.
sep 2, 2025, 5:56 pm • 1 0 • view
Do you want your child to call you during a school shooting to let you know whats going on, or? You good just GUESSING they're okay?
sep 2, 2025, 6:27 pm • 1 0 • view
Yeah, you’re gonna have to wait.
sep 2, 2025, 6:54 pm • 0 0 • view
They can call when it’s over. A bunch of kids in phones in an emergency situation is beyond stupid
sep 2, 2025, 6:33 pm • 0 0 • view
Whats stupid is caring more about their phones than them being murdered. But yeah, take their phones lmao. That'll solve EVERYTHING. Next on the Stupid Ideas List: Arming our teachers instead paying them more!
sep 2, 2025, 6:39 pm • 0 0 • view
You’re a moron, bub. Kids having their phones only complicates that situation. Maybe time to grow up
sep 2, 2025, 6:41 pm • 0 0 • view
When you go 5 years without a school shooting then I'll be ready to talk about no phones in school
sep 2, 2025, 3:52 pm • 1 0 • view
This photo shows how easy it will be for the principal to allow searches of everybody's phone, or for a thief to grab a whole load of phones in one spot! Is this also a way to 'groom' the kids to accept total control by the authorities, even when the parents don't agree with them?
sep 2, 2025, 7:40 pm • 0 0 • view
We banned them in Oregon’s Md it’s SOOOoO much better! Best move by the state in a while
sep 2, 2025, 5:55 pm • 0 0 • view
Both parties are UNITED to make sure the people do not get ALL money and WEALTH out of politics and the elections (DARK$$OUT).To prioritize principals before personalities, end the duality that gaslights and END the horse race of who can spend the most on authoritarian interests in power.
sep 2, 2025, 1:09 pm • 0 0 • view
This should require parental permission, and I would not allow it without a guarantee that no guns will be in the school.
sep 2, 2025, 1:13 pm • 12 1 • view
THIS⬆️⬆️⬆️
sep 2, 2025, 1:31 pm • 0 0 • view
Isn't Haidt's book like, literally wrong though? Or at least not entirely representative of the whole truth, I recall hearing.
sep 2, 2025, 12:52 pm • 0 0 • view
Continue..
sep 2, 2025, 1:12 pm • 0 0 • view
Well, since you're asking, I did find one of the article: www.techdirt.com/2024/04/22/j...
sep 2, 2025, 2:32 pm • 0 0 • view
Thanks! I am not a supporter of taking phones away from kids. Instead of holding kids accountable, they punish the masses. Phones are apart of life. Why not teach them to be responsible with them? If a student cannot follow rules, take the phone as a consequence or the phone stays at home.
sep 2, 2025, 2:49 pm • 0 0 • view
Exactly! Honestly I thought that way of thinking was commonplace. I guess it isn't? Besides, it's becoming increasingly clear all these "misguided" attempts at helping kids are more about asserting control at this point.
sep 2, 2025, 3:02 pm • 0 0 • view
+ Dear god, please just teach kids how to safely navigate the internet instead of trying to childproof the web. That would mitigate so much of the damage news media is yappering on about these days.
sep 2, 2025, 3:07 pm • 0 0 • view
New York has started it already for this year.
sep 2, 2025, 2:47 pm • 0 0 • view
Haidt just announced that he’s joined Bari Weiss’s “the free press” fascist disinformation org, and the Heritage Foundation has a plan to use social media restrictions to ban lgbtq content. That should tell you all you need to know about the politics of censoring the speech of youth.
sep 2, 2025, 3:43 pm • 2 0 • view
Not a parent but I'm thinking kids get smart phones too young. How about phones that don't text or do social media but let you call parents, 911, etc ?
sep 2, 2025, 3:51 pm • 3 0 • view
This is dumb thing to focus on. How about keeping guns out of school first, making sure every kid has free breakfast, lunch and a snack, pay teachers better then maybe stop being a bunch of boomers. We’ve pretty much fucked their future, at least give them something.
sep 2, 2025, 2:52 pm • 2 0 • view
Phone banning in schools probably makes sense in any other country in the world, but not in the USA where school shootings are a regular occurrence!!
sep 2, 2025, 1:32 pm • 1 0 • view
Really? This is the last bipartisan issue? Everything else is hyper partisan, except for this? I don't believe it. Wait for the Democrats to put their weight behind this for Trump and MAGA to want to take the opposite stance, like they do with everything else.
sep 2, 2025, 2:19 pm • 1 0 • view
Gosh, what’s made parents & students so anxious at school that they feel the need to be able to reach one another at any given moment?
sep 2, 2025, 1:12 pm • 10 1 • view
Such care and dedication is commendable. But as someone who was a student in a time of smartphones, keeping them in the classroom is a serious impediment to learning.
sep 2, 2025, 1:57 pm • 3 0 • view
Keeping them on their bodies can be a tremendous help during a school shooting. You know what's making them anxious, right? Right? The fact that any moment, someone with their 2A rights can walk in and gun them down.
sep 2, 2025, 4:19 pm • 2 0 • view
Phones can be kept in pockets, in a shoe rack on the back of the door, in backpacks, in a basket on the teachers’ desk, etc. I’m fine w not having phones out during class but I’m not ok with banning them to the point kids are unreachable during the day. The school doesn’t communicate fast enough.
sep 2, 2025, 2:03 pm • 4 0 • view
Adults need the phones, the kids have zero need for one
sep 2, 2025, 6:04 pm • 0 0 • view
exactly! When I was in high school (Graduated in 2008. I didn't even have a phone, just to clarify) the rule was your phone had to be in your locker. I think rules like it has to be in your locker or in your backpack or in your pocket is perfectly acceptable. An outright "ban" is preposterous.
sep 2, 2025, 2:50 pm • 0 0 • view
When I was in school (graduated in 1986) cell phones really weren't a thing. But, school shootings weren't a thing also. When will someone grow a brain and connect the anxiety of the younger generations with the knowledge they could be gunned down at any moment?
sep 2, 2025, 4:21 pm • 1 0 • view
Kids having phones doesn’t affect that at all. Only the adults need phones
sep 2, 2025, 6:07 pm • 0 0 • view
So, a child being able to say good bye to their parent as they are being gunned down isn't important? You are so clueless.
sep 2, 2025, 7:01 pm • 0 0 • view
I was in HS when Columbine happened. I had a kindergartner when Sandy Hook happened. Oxford happened not far from us. My kids have suffered under precautionary lock downs (not drills) SEVERAL times a year their ENTIRE K-12 experience & I’ve had a panic attack every time. 📱 aren’t the problem.
sep 2, 2025, 4:26 pm • 1 0 • view
I'm so sorry you had to go through this. I was homeschooling my kids when 9/11 happened. Never so happy to be homeschooling. My daughter was in high school. when Columbine happened. Freaked all us parents out.
sep 2, 2025, 4:46 pm • 1 0 • view
Already banned in Ohio. All day even at lunch at my kid’s school. The kids hate it so much, lol
sep 2, 2025, 12:58 pm • 2 0 • view
My kids actually loved it! They said it made them reconnect with their friends at lunch and helped them focus in class. My daughter went to a party and a sleepover this weekend and both sets of parents outlined a “no cellphones” policy. My daughter understood and actually preferred it!
sep 2, 2025, 1:06 pm • 4 0 • view
I don’t have kids in school now, but if I did….HELL NO. Until kids aren’t in danger of being shot, my kid would be keeping a phone.
sep 2, 2025, 4:40 pm • 0 0 • view
No phones to call for help when the school is under siege, or whatever… NOPE
sep 2, 2025, 1:16 pm • 3 1 • view