Banning Phones in Schools Is Drastically Changing the Behavior of Kids, Teachers Say

Over the past few years, a huge number of schools in the United States and around the world have banned cell phone use among their students.

It’s a divisive topic, and the effects are only starting to come into focus. Just look at New York State, where governor Kathy Hocul and lawmakers put a ban into the state budget last spring in an effort to give kids a break from distractions at school.

Gothamist spoke to students about their experience with the ban, and the number one takeaway didn’t have to do with anything to do with hot-button topics like social media addiction or cyberbullying. Instead, it was that kiboshing phones is forcing kids to actually talk to each other in meatspace again — and it’s making schools way noisier, for better or worse.

“Sometimes I would take naps in the lu