Students in L.A. face a cellphone ban. They shouldn’t be the last.

High school hallways teem with students with their heads down — not because they’re immersed in books, but because their favorite influencer posted a new video. Schools have had to remove bathroom mirrors because students were sneaking out of class to make TikTok videos. Digital isolation has taken over school lunchrooms and playgrounds, causing these spaces to become eerily silent. Administrators say the phenomenon has only worsened since the covid-19 pandemic.

Smartphones undoubtedly hinder students’ attention to solving for x or close reading a Shakespearean sonnet. Simply banning their use in class, but not restricting them further, permits surreptitious or accidental phone use. A 2023 study by Common Sense Media revealed that teens check their phones more than 100 times a day on average. On top of the hundreds of notifications lighting up screens and interrupting class lectures, teens now spend 4.8 hours on social media each day. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy has been a vocal supporter of limiting screen exposure and social media usage for young adults, even pushing for tobacco-style warning labels on apps such as Instagram and Facebook. The relationship between screen exposure and mental well-being remains unclear, but some studies suggest there is cause for concern.

Promoting prosocial skills is another crucial school responsibility; phone bans push kids to interact with their peers face to face and foster relationships outside of cyberspace. Plenty of people still struggle, after the solitude of the covid pandemic, to settle back into their communities. Schools could be just the place to start.

Yet many parents remain wary of banning phones during the school day. They are afraid that doing so would sever communication between them and their children — not only when they want to coordinate pickups or drop-offs, but also in the event of an emergency. Given the rise in school shootings in recent years, parents’ worries are understandable. But they aren’t reason enough to continue permitting device usage on campus.

Law enforcement officials actually advise against mass communication during lockdowns. Having hundreds of students contacting their parents can heighten panic and distract kids from listening to lifesaving instructions.

Schools have managed to function without smartphones for centuries — without their absence causing logistical or any other disaster. For concerned parents, equipping their children with traditional cellphones, these days dubbed “dumbphones,” might be the best option; schools might consider whether selective phone bans that permit such devices could work. They could be particularly appropriate for children still in elementary and middle school. Or parents could get even more old-fashioned and simply call their school’s administrative office when necessary. Schools, meanwhile, could ensure they have parental notification systems that work during emergencies.

The next question for schools is how to ban them. A popular option is requiring the use of magnetic pouches that lock in the morning and unlock when the final bell rings, or in the event of an emergency. This option is the most widely enforced, with more than 3,000 schools using them in 21 different countries. Other options, such as phone lockers or an honor-based system forbidding students from touching their phones, have been less successful.

When smartphone bans are done right, they can make a big difference. At Bethlehem Central High School near Albany, N.Y., for example, academic progress has improved since applying a ban last fall. According to school faculty, students converse with one another in class and in common areas, much like they used to before scrolling through social media feeds became the standard lunchtime activity. They are less distracted and more tuned in to learning. Skeptical students and parents have even said they’re surprised at the success of the newly phone-free school.

Cellphone bans are moving from individual schools to statewide policy in states such as Florida and Indiana. California leaders are considering a statewide policy of their own. All the better; the next generation should learn to appreciate the life of the mind, not just the screen.

For more on a related subject, listen to columnists discuss social media warning labels on the Impromptu podcast.