While Texas is due to vote on a statewide ban of cell devices in schools, a new survey looks at how Americans feel about it. It turns out, the majority are for it, as 71% would support some form of a cell phone ban in schools.
According to the survey of 2-thousand adult Americans, only 27% say they wouldn’t support banning the devices in schools at all. The biggest reason for that is feeling that a parent needs to be able to reach their child at all times (58%).
- More than a quarter (27%) feel a child has a right to their devices, while 13% think phone use during school shouldn’t be an “all or nothing” issue.
- Just 8% of respondents feel kids should be given unrestricted access to phones in school.
- But for those who support a ban, the main reason is the worry that phones distract kids during lessons and have a negative impact on education (78%).
- Supporters also worry that kids spend too much time on devices in general (72%), and have concerns over cyberbullying (47%).
- Nearly half (45%) of those in favor of a ban also worry about students using AI to cheat.
- Overall, 54% support a ban of phones in elementary schools, but it goes down to 49% for middle schools and 45% for high schools.
- More than half (56%) would be in favor of kids having access to phones during lunch, free periods or break times.
- About the same amount (54%) would support implementing technology that blocks cell phone devices or signals during class time, but 18% aren’t sure how they feel about that and 28% are opposed to the idea.
Source: Talker