Maya Gest '26
Since the release of the iPhone in 2007 and all the advancements made to smartphones since then, the popularity and usage of smartphones has exploded. In fact, a study from the Pew Research Center showed that 95% of teens aged 13-17 have a smartphone, with 46% saying that they use them almost constantly. Smartphones have an unlimited potential for many tasks.
However, due to the heavy use of smartphones by teens and the distractions they cause, a critical question has risen in our school community: should smartphones be banned during school hours at Abington Friends School? Here’s why they shouldn’t and how it would do more harm than good.
Smartphones have been completely integrated into our lives, even for school uses. At AFS, we use our phones to check in on Ruvna, have easy access to our schedules and emails, tell the time, communicate with friends and teachers, and much more. A complete phone ban would upend these important uses of smartphones at AFS and would make our school run less smoothly.
Phones aren’t just for everyday use but also for the possibility of needing it for something more important. Nobody can predict when a more serious situation will arise. Should a specific person, or the whole school, be facing an immediate and dire safety situation, access to a smartphone may be crucial for contacting students, faculty, and even authorities, should they be needed at that time. Smartphones aren’t just for fun and games but for our safety, too.
I am opposed to a total ban on smartphones at AFS, and I don’t think there is a need for one anyway. I believe that the current phone policy works well. I support the requirement that all students must turn in their smartphones at the beginning of every class. It is very important for students to be focused on what is on the smartboard and not the smartphone.
It is possible that a ban on smartphones will lead to an increase in face-to-face interaction, but our community is so connected already, and there are other ways to make sure we stay that way, like Community Day and school-wide activities.
So, considering the many benefits of smartphones and the consequences of implementing a total ban at AFS, students should be allowed to use smartphones outside of class. We have seen how well the current policy works already. Why should we change it?