Should cell phones be allowed in classrooms? It is a broadly debated topic. Cell phones can be considered both good and bad; it depends who you ask. Cell phones have so much information on them that could be useful, but they also have so many distractions that could hinder your learning experience. Some teachers, and even some schools, have a no-phone policy. These teachers, or schools, clearly think that the benefits of having a cell phone at school and in class outweigh the difficulties. But do the cons of constantly having your cellphone outweigh the pros; or does having your phone on you, even in class, actually make sense?

In the modern world, phones are our access to everything. You need to look something up? Take out your phone. Need to make flashcards? Take out your phone. The point is, our phones are used for absolutely everything. For a teacher or our school to tell us to put them away, it’s kind of a big deal. Even teacher’s rely on their phones, and they will often ask you to look something up or go to their website. If you’ve ever had a teacher yell at you for having your phone on your desk, and then ask you to take it out a few minutes later; you understand how frustrating it can be. Phones are a necessity to be an active member of society; and if you go to school, then you are indeed an active member of society.

Another benefit of having your phone on you is safety; both mental and physical. If there is some emergency in which you need your phone, but you don’t have it, what do you do? Just wait and hope that somebody will come to your rescue? It shouldn’t have to come to that; you should be able to have your phone just in case something bad happens. If somebody with a gun walks into your school; do you want to know that you can call someone, or that you’re on your own? Piece of mind- it’s an amazing thing. Having access to your phone can give you, and your, parents this amazing thing. Parents will often check up on their kids, and if the kids don’t respond, these parents also tend to freak out; if the kids were to have their phones, they could quickly answer and get back to class. The kids themselves could use their phones to look up something they weren’t sure about, in order to prevent embarrassing themselves.

Anxiety is a very common thing for kids and more specifically teenagers. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, “80% of kids [have] anxiety.” School can be very stressful, it’s not uncommon for someone to have a panic attack during school. A phone provides many ways in which they can calm down; or never have gotten to that point of breaking in the first place. Music is one of the most common ways to relieve stress, and prevent or stop a panic attack. Yes, some kids just put both of their earbuds in and zone out the whole class; but if they truly don’t want to pay attention, then taking away their phones wouldn’t do anything, they’d just find another way to distract themselves.

There definitely are some cons(find better word) to having your phone in class. Teacher’s have to worry more about cheating. With each kid having their own phone, it is much easier for all of them to cheat, and a lot more work for that teacher to make sure that nobody is cheating. Too much screen time can also be considered bad.  According to JR Thorpe author of “5 Things Too Much Scrren Time Does To your Body,” too much screen time leads to an “increase[d] mortality risk.” And what if your phone gets stolen? Who’s fault is it; is it your fault, or is it the school’s? It’s unlikely that the school would appreciate getting sued for loss of property, so it makes sense that they’d want to ban cell-phones.

Should cell-phones be allowed in class? The benefits clearly outweigh the disadvantages, but the disadvantages can be considered significant. Cheating, one of the cons, is a very serious matter and can get you into a lot of trouble. Phones are quite obviously a distraction to both those using them, and the kids that are actually trying to pay attention. It is most certainly not fair to the kids that actually want to concentrate, if the kids that are getting distracted also distract them.There is many opinions on whether or not phones should be allowed in class or at school in general, and there will never be a time where everyone agrees about cell-phone usage in learning environments; but it is definitely safer and easier for kids to have access to their phones during school.