Cellphones in schools are an increasingly hot-button issue, and the Kansas government is beginning to take action. Senate Bill 302, which would implement a “bell-to-bell” ban in public schools, is currently under debate and is expected to be enacted soon. By passing this bill, Kansas would join more than 20 states that have banned cellphones in schools.
Speaker of the House Dan Hawkins recently appeared on KGGF News Radio to discuss the importance of passing this bill to help children in Kansas. This bill is not a partisan issue, and as the Speaker notes, “it’s something that we need to do because it’s really about the kids…It’s about the kids being able to concentrate on [school] and to really interact with each other.”
In his radio appearance, he referenced a book titled “The Anxious Generation,” by Jonathan Haidt, which Prof. Lynzee Flores uses and teaches in her Digital Media and Society class here at BC. In his book, Haidt examines the universal human experiences that are meant to shape us and advance our development into fully functioning persons, and the substantial scientific evidence that phones disrupt these crucial experiences and wreck our development.
Prof Flores shared her opinion on the bill, noting how it represents a shifting attitude in our culture as we now have seen “the effects of this technology after it has been around for a while and it is scary.”
While this bill does not directly affect Benedictine students, Prof. Flores said this bill should prompt us “to be watching your own media habits, and its impact on relationships that you have.”
No one is arguing that technology is inherently bad, and, whether we like it or not, we, as the future workforce, need to understand and stay up to date with technology. However, we can still take measures to ensure we use our phones responsibly.
Bailey Carney, a current BC freshman, explained a simple tactic her friends use to put away their phones and be present to each other. “We call it a phone stack. We all just stack our phones on top of each other so none of us can look at them. We all just have way more fun together when we aren’t looking at our phones.” This is an easy and great tip for anyone to manage phone use and be truly present to others.
Ultimately, passing this bill will be a win for the state of Kansas, regardless of party or age. This is a step towards Gen Z becoming something other than the Anxious Generation.
