In the digital age, Kansas classrooms face new obstacles from technology

The allure of cellphones and social media apps have proved a problematic distraction for students in K-12 schools. (Illustration by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Cellphones have quietly transformed K-12 classrooms into battlegrounds for focus and learning, pulling students’ attention away from their education and toward an endless digital feed. While smartphones have undeniable value outside of school, their presence during the school day has come at a steep cost to learning, mental health and school culture.

As a mom of two teenage daughters, a former school board member and an advocate for children’s well-being, I’m concerned about the effect of cellphones and devices on children’s development. Over the past year, I’ve been researching the effects of consistent cellphone access on children’s development.

What I’ve uncovered should alarm all of us.

We all know the experiences of children today are not the same that you or I experienced growing up. Technology has moved far beyond where most of us probably thought possible even a decade ago. Parents and educators haven’t been able to keep up to ensure we design environments with children’s safety and well-being in mind.

For companies creating these platforms, children’s addiction to them balloons their bottom lines. While these businesses need to change how they target children, we don’t have time to wait for them to change how we integrate technology into kids’ daily lives.

Right now, the Kansas Legislature is considering passing a consistent restriction on use of personal digital devices in K-12 schools. The bipartisan proposal already has support from much of the Senate.

Limiting access to cellphones for students in a school setting isn’t about going backward or trying to artificially resurrect some nostalgic childhood, but it’s about honestly assessing and asking ourselves how kids are doing. In this case, what is nearly constant access to screens, the internet and social media doing to our kids?

States that have implemented similar consistent policies are already seeing results. Conversations in the hallways between classes, improved test scores, more engagement between teachers and students — and I hope, happier kids — tell us this is the right direction for Kansas.

In addition to educational benefits, we expect to see improvement in children’s mental well-being. Adolescence is a precarious and precious time for children to develop and learn more about themselves. Kids who are more often exposed to frequent social media and internet access are vulnerable to more social comparison, self-consciousness, online bullying and chronic anxiety than children in past generations.

We know children are struggling. A decade of data and observations repeatedly show a negative relationship between how much a child is using their digital devices and their happiness, attention, and ability to learn. According to the Kansas Health Institute:

• Kansas had the 10th-highest suicide rate in the nation for youths and young adults age 15-24 and the 11th highest for early adolescents age 10-14 in 2016-2020.
• From 2016-2020, suicide was the second leading cause of death for Kansas kids and young adults age 10-24.
• The Kansas youth suicide rate increased 63.8%, from 13.0 per 100,000 population in 2001-2005, to 21.3 per 100,000 in 2016-2020, which outpaced the 41.1% increase in the United States overall (9.9 to 14.0 per 100,000).

Even without the supporting data, we can sense and see the impact of digital devices on our children. For younger kids, it’s the inability to self-regulate or be in public settings without digital distractions. For teens, it’s often the lack of real-life social connections, poor sleep, the lack of reading real books, and difficulty making eye contact or holding conversations. I dare say that adults are facing these same challenges.

As educators and parents grapple with declining attention spans, rising anxiety, and disrupted classrooms, restricting cell phones in K–12 schools isn’t about taking away access to technology or punishing students — it’s about restoring classrooms as places for curiosity and connection.

Adrienne Olejnik is the vice president at Kansas Action for Children. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.