YORK, Maine — Hayden Atkinson felt disconnected from his friends, his college admissions process, and his fantasy football team without his phone on the first day of school this year.

“The first few days, I would check my pockets, and it just wouldn’t be there,” Atkinson said.

After a few weeks of York High School’s new bell-to-bell cellphone ban , Atkinson said he got used to being less connected to the internet through his phone. He said he’s having conversations with classmates during lunch and in the hallways that he might otherwise have avoided while engaged with his phone.

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