The Guardian: As a child psychiatrist, I see what smartphones are doing to kids' mental health

[no_hypocrisy]

4. More: Smartphones are interfering with education of children.

From the Fifth Grade on up, students are nearly militant about putting down their phones instead of learning and doing classwork. They can be told not to look at their phones for a 40-minute class and some just can't do it. You can threaten them with school discipline, but it means nothing. And it distracts others who DO want to learn and do the work.

Parents justify their children having phones in school -- in order to be in contact with their children 24/7 in case of a crisis or their children can alert them in the event of an emergency, e.g., fire or school shooting.

There aren't enough vice principals in any given school to enforce a "no phones" policy.