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A report issued by a New Jersey panel that was created to study how social media affects teenagers is recommending a “bell-to-bell” ban on cell phones in schools.
The New Jersey Commission on the Effects of Social Media Usage on Adolescents report calls for local school districts to have the authority to approve the bans, which would include students’ time spent on school buses, during school-sanctioned events, lunch breaks and between classes.
The commission included students, parents, education officials and mental health and policy experts.
The report supports legislative efforts to regulate online student activity, including a measure sponsored by South Jersey Assemblyman Cody Miller, D-Gloucester.
For cell phone bans, there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’
Miller said his legislation directs the state Department of Education to establish policies and guidelines for controlling cell phone and social media use during instructional time.
“It gives school districts the flexibility to determine which policies work best for them to limit cell phone use within the classroom,” he said.
Miller said the bill also stipulates that if students have documented medical conditions where they need access to their cell phones, they will have that access.
Anxiety, depression and other possible dangers of student cell phone use
Stephanie Marcello, chief psychologist for Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care, said studies show that social media can harm the social-emotional health and well-being of children between the ages of 10 and 19.
“Social media use, particularly in those age groups, increases things like anxiety and depression and even loneliness and suicide,” she said.
Marcello noted social media exposure can also cause issues with academic learning, attention spans and the ability to interact with others.
“Learning how to connect with people,” she said. “How to deal with things right there, being aware of what’s going on around you and not just having your head down in a phone.”
