Governor of Ohio, Mike DeWine, recently enforced a bill requiring each school district, community school and STEM school to adopt a policy prohibiting cell phone use by students during the instructional day by Jan. 1, 2026. But SHS has had a policy like this, banning all cell phone usage for students for two years now and students are not happy about it. The students’ biggest problem with the policy is not having access to phones during lunch and study hall periods.

Although I, too, would like my phone during study hall periods, I believe the cons of having phones in school outweigh the benefits.

When students have phones in school, they have access to social media where they can post anything and anyone without a care in the world. For example, multiple times, people have taken photos of someone without them knowing and posted it on social media, making fun of them. Or a student could hear a rumor and spread it with the click of a button and ruin someone’s day. By having policies in place like cell phone bans, bullying like this can be prevented from happening altogether.

My freshman year, I was sitting at my lunch table when all of a sudden I started getting text messages from my best friend, but it wasn’t her– it was someone else on her phone sitting next to her. The person started texting me all these mean messages, and it ended with me sobbing and going to the guidance counselor because the messages wouldn’t stop.

Bullying is already an issue many schools deal with, but when phones get added to the equation, so does the possibility of cyberbullying. Kids in high school are ruthless when it comes to insulting random people for no reason at all– phones just make this problem 10 times worse.

Kids who are bullied have a higher risk for developing depression and anxiety, increased feelings of sadness and loneliness, changes in sleep and eating patterns and loss of interest in activities they used to enjoy.

So, is it more important to have phones in school when it heightens the risk of fellow classmates’ health diminishing?

But it’s not just students’ mental health that is at risk from having phones in school– it’s also their academics. When students have access to their phones in school, it can disrupt their learning process, leading to declining test scores and more classroom distractions.

In the past, study hall would be the time everyone would look forward to, not because they could catch up on their studies, but instead because they could go on their phones. I know I always opted to go on my phone rather than do my work in study hall. But not having access to my phone forces me to be more productive, and although some days when I don’t have homework I would like my phone, I don’t think I could be trusted with access to it on days that I have work to get done.

With 60% of teenagers exhibiting signs of phone addiction, it’s important that phones aren’t in classes because many teenagers don’t have the control to put their phones down when a teacher begins teaching. When it comes to choosing between their future and watching that TikTok on their phone, most teenagers would choose the TikTok, sadly.

So although the phone bans upset many kids, it’s best for them. When I first got the email from Solon informing parents and students about the phone ban, I was furious, but now I’m more grateful than ever.

My first two years of high school, when students had full access to phones, lunch time was nothing like it is now. When phones were allowed, students often sat around with AirPods all the time rather than interacting with their friends.

But ever since phones have been banned, I’ve had conversations that last the whole lunch period with my friends. Along with that, people in the hallways actually talk to each other now that they aren’t rushing to use their phones during the break periods. It makes me happy to see the way everyone communicates with each other way more than before, ever since phones were banned.

Overall, phones are not needed in the school environment, and it’s for the better that this bill has been put in place. Although many students at schools with this policy will be upset, I think students will also eventually see the beneficial change it brings to the atmosphere of the school.