Cell Phone Committee Research List
Ongoing reference for the committee and community.
As Conroe ISD continues its discussions around what to do about cell phones and social media use in schools, under the guidance of the School Health Advisory Council and their recommendations, the Cell Phone Committee that is reviewing and discussing potential new district guidelines has collected a great deal of research to reference.
This page will be an ongoing updated list of research articles, blogs from researchers, news, videos, and books that can be shared for the committee and the community. As the goal of this blog is to break down things for easier consumption, we will do our best to summarize the content. However, it is always recommended that you read the data for yourself, by at least reading the original author’s summary, abstract, or conclusions.
Please use the comments in this post to make other research recommendations, provide corrections, or any other info that you believe may be relevant for the committee to review.
Committee Meeting Summaries:
Cell Phone Committee Meeting 1 - Introduction
Cell Phone Committee Meeting 2 - Focus on K-6
Cell Phone Committee Meeting 3 - K-6 Final & Begin 7-8, 9-12
Collaborative Research Lists
The following lists are collaborative efforts between researchers working to pull together as much research as possible related to the topics of mental health in children:
Social Media and Mental Health: A Collaborative Review - Link
Many studies, using a variety of methods, have found associations between heavy social media use and bad mental health outcomes, particularly for girls.
Adolescent mood disorders since 2010: A collaborative review - Link
Many studies, using different methods and asking different questions, indicate that rates of adolescent anxiety, depression, and self-harm are rising for girls in the years after 2012, compared to the years before 2009, in the US and in the UK, as well as in other English-speaking countries. The increases for boys are sometimes smaller and are found less consistently. But even though boys generally have lower rates of internalizing disorders, the increases after 2012 are often just as large as those for girls in percentage terms, even though a 30% increase does not look dramatic on a graph when the initial rate is lower.
Research Articles
In order of most recent published dates:
Age of First Smartphone/Tablet and Mental Wellbeing Outcomes (2023) - Link
This report shows that 18–24-year-olds who acquired their first smartphone (or tablet) at each older age had, on average, better mental wellbeing, and correspondingly fewer problems with suicidal thoughts, feelings of aggression towards others and sense of detachment from reality. This points to a cumulative effect of smartphone use in childhood on outcomes in adulthood, one that is particularly prominent for females.
The Relationship of School Connectedness to Adolescents’ Engagement in Co-Occurring Health Risks: A Meta-Analytic Review (2022) - Link
Research continually demonstrates the benefits for youth of having strong connections to their schools, and our findings further solidify the importance of this aspect of the school ecology in the lives of young people. More intervention research is needed to show how to successfully increase youth’s feelings of connection and positive regard for school. Specifically, additional attention to optimizing youths’ sense of connection, belonging, affiliation to, and importance of school stands out as a clear first step in the direction of leveraging this important protective factor to preventing youth engagement in multiple health risk behaviors. Public health and school health leaders are challenged to critically examine existing strategies and identify opportunities to increase students’ connectedness to school.
Not all screen time is created equal: associations with mental health vary by activity and gender (2021) - Link
Hours spent on social media and Internet use were more strongly associated with self-harm behaviors, depressive symptoms, low life satisfaction, and low self-esteem than hours spent on electronic gaming and TV watching. Girls generally demonstrated stronger associations between screen media time and mental health indicators than boys (e.g., heavy Internet users were 166% more likely to have clinically relevant levels of depressive symptoms than low users among girls, compared to 75% more likely among boys).
Digital Screen Time: The Effects on Social and Emotional Development of Four and Five-Year-Old Children (2021) - Link
The study found that children who spent more time on their digital devices were lower in social and emotional well-being than low technology users. High users of digital devices were significantly more likely to display decreased self-control and were more distractible. These children had lower task persistence, difficulty following directions, and sitting still. Higher users of digital devices sleep less and do not have consistent bedtime routines. High users of digital devices may suffer from irreversible damage to their developing brains and limit one’s socio-emotional abilities for school success and beyond.
What are the effects of screen time on emotion regulation and academic achievements? A three-wave longitudinal study on children from 4 to 8 years of age (2020) - Link
Our results suggest that teachers should pay specific attention to students who are reported to make excessive use of digital devices but do not show low academic results in the first years of elementary school. Our study showed that academic achievements of these children might deteriorate over time, especially from 6 to 8 years of age. In line with this result, parents and teachers could work together and monitor children’s emotional/behavioral, cognitive and social development.
Social Media Use and Adolescent Mental Health: Findings From the UK Millennium Cohort Study (2019) - Link
The magnitude of association between social media use and depressive symptoms was larger for girls than for boys. Compared with 1–3 h of daily use: 3 to <5 h 26% increase in scores vs 21%; ≥5 h 50% vs 35% for girls and boys respectively. Greater social media use related to online harassment, poor sleep, low self-esteem and poor body image; in turn these related to higher depressive symptom scores.
Type of screen time moderates effects on outcomes in 4013 children: evidence from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (2019) - Link
There were linear associations between total screen time and all outcomes, such that more screen time was associated with worse outcomes. However, there was variability when examined by screen time type. Passive screen time (e.g., TV) was associated with worse outcomes, educational screen time (e.g., computer for homework) was associated with positive educational outcomes and had no negative relations with other outcomes. Interactive screen time (e.g., video games) had positive associations with educational outcomes but negative associations with other outcomes.
Brain Drain: The Mere Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity (2017) - Link
The present research identifies a potentially costly side effect of the integration of smartphones into daily life: smartphone-induced “brain drain.” We provide evidence that the mere presence of consumers’ smartphones can adversely affect two measures of cognitive capacity—available working memory capacity and functional fluid intelligence—without interrupting sustained attention or increasing the frequency of phone-related thoughts. Consumers who were engaged with ongoing cognitive tasks were able to keep their phones not just out of their hands, but also out of their (conscious) minds; however, the mere presence of these devices left fewer attentional resources available for engaging with the task at hand.
Dividing attention in the classroom reduces exam performance (2017) - Link
Exam performance was poorer for material taught in classes that permitted electronic device use both for students who did and did not direct attention to an electronic device for a non-academic purpose during those classes.
…
Divided attention to a laptop or cell phone during a classroom lesson clearly impaired long-term retention of the lesson, as demonstrated by the poorer performance on the corresponding review, unit exam, and final exam questions.
Social comparisons on social media: The impact of Facebook on young women's body image concerns and mood (2014) - Link
Our findings indicate that Facebook usage can put women in a more negative mood. In addition, for women who make more appearance comparisons, spending time on Facebook led to greater desire to change their face, hair, and skin-related features.
Facebook’s emotional consequences: Why Facebook causes a decrease in mood and why people still use it (2014) - Link
Our findings suggest that – on a daily basis – hundreds of millions of people engage in an activity that they consider little meaningful, which in turn dampens their current mood.
Articles, Blogs, Opinions
The Case for Phone-Free Schools (2023) - Link
“The research is clear: Smartphones undermine attention, learning, relationships, and belonging.”
Here’s What the Research Says About Screen Time and School-Aged Kids (2023) - Link
Excessive screen time is concerning, but when used for education, it can be beneficial.
Yes, We Do Know Social Media Isn’t Safe for Kids (2023) - Link
“The most common question parents ask me is, ‘is social media safe for my kids’. The answer is that we don't have enough evidence to say it's safe, and in fact, there is growing evidence that social media use is associated with harm to young people’s mental health.”
Kids Who Get Smartphones Earlier Become Adults With Worse Mental Health (2023) - Link
We suggest that schools consider going phone free, meaning that students can use their phones to arrive and depart from school, but once they enter, their phones (smart or dumb) would be placed in a phone locker, or in a lockable pouch. We think the case for doing this in elementary schools and middle schools is strongest.
News
HISD renews enforcement on cellphone bans, to the delight of some parents and teachers (2023) - Link
HISD, like most districts, has always banned phones in classes and instructed teachers to confiscate them from repeated rule-breakers. Enforcement, however, was uneven across classrooms and schools, and kids often felt free to disregard the rule, parents say.
This year, the cellphone policy states that students must keep their phones in their backpack throughout the entire school day, as opposed to simply having them out of sight during class and in the hallways.
Four more Richardson ISD schools will require cellphone pouches to limit usage in school (2023) - Link
The Richardson Independent School District will now require students at four additional schools to keep their phones in a pouch that locks in certain phone-free areas, such as the classroom.
North Texas school district says phones must be turned off, stored away at school (2023) - Link
All students in grades K-6 will be required to keep their devices turned off and stored away during the school day except for before and after school. Students in grades 7-12 will be required to keep their devices turned off and stored away during class periods. Campus principals will also have the discretion to allow cell phone use during passing periods and lunch, the policy states.
If a student uses a cell phone without authorization during the school day, the device will be confiscated, and a parent, guardian, or student may pick up the confiscated device from the office for a fee of $15, the district said.
Scottsdale schools ban cellphones for K-8 students (2023) - Link
The district implemented the new rule for the 2023-24 school year. Under the policy, students must have their phones put away in bags or backpacks while they're on campus.
Virginia school district bans cellphones in class: An ‘addiction’ (2023) - Link
The school district is taking several restrictive measures to ensure students comply with the new rule, including limiting the Wi-Fi to preapproved devices, instituting disciplinary action, and requiring children to put their phones in a Yondr pouch, rendering them unusable.
Students can’t get off their phones. Schools have had enough (2023) - Link
This year, the district went a step further, expanding to the high school level. There, students slip their phones into locking Yondr pouches (about $16 each) that they carry with them all day and that they can open by tapping it against a magnetic device as they leave.
Cellphone Bans in School Are Back. How Far Will They Go? (2023) - Link
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2020, cellphone bans were in place in 76% of U.S. schools.
Some districts and schools have much broader restrictions on cellphones than others. However, struggles with student behavior and mental health have prompted many schools to restrict access to the devices.
Research shows that cellphones are a major distraction in classrooms. But some experts, concerned about the impact on school culture, urge leaders not to implement overly restrictive policies.
Iowa school bans cellphones in classrooms (2023) - Link
Under the new policy students would be required to leave their phones in their lockers until the completion of the last class.
Missouri high school bans student cell phones, smartwatches starting April 4 (2022) - Link
Students at a high school in central Missouri will be required to leave cell phones at home or check them into the office until dismissal.
No cellphones for Penn Hills School District students next year (2022) - Link
Before entering school and before student ID check, the students’ cellphone and any other communication device, including smartwatches, will be stored and secured in a Yondr pouch.
More Massachusetts schools banning cell phones in classrooms this year (2022) - Link
The boarding school will not allow students or teachers to have them on campus.
Videos
These are interesting talks related or adjacent to the discussions on social media use, connection, empathy, vulnerability, and more.
Why our screens make us less happy (2017) - 10 minutes
3 fears about screen time for kids, and why they're not true (2017) - 12 minutes
The Power of Vulnerability (2010) - 20 minutes
Books
These books are generally about technology use and how they can impact many different facets of how we grow and learn. These are not specific to cell phones in schools but many of the themes are related or adjacent.
The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt (2023)
“The Anxious Generation is a penetrating and alarming accounting of how we adults began to overprotect children in the real world while giving essentially no protection in the brutal online world. Haidt documents the four fundamental harms of the phone-based childhood: sleep deprivation, social deprivation, cognitive fragmentation, and addiction. He then shows the unique harms affecting boys, and the unique harms affecting girls. In the last section of The Anxious Generation, he offers concrete and scientifically based advice with separate chapters addressed to parents, schools, universities, governments, and to teens themselves. He draws on ancient wisdom and modern psychology to help everyone understand what healthy development would look like in the digital age.”
Generations, Jean Twenge (2023)
“A groundbreaking, revelatory portrait of the six generations that currently live in the United States and how they connect, conflict, and compete with one another.”
The Emotional Lives of Teenagers, Lisa Damour (2023)
“In teenagers, powerful emotions come with the territory. And with so many of today’s teens contending with academic pressure, social media stress, worries about the future, and concerns about their own mental health, it’s easy for them—and their parents—to feel anxious and overwhelmed. But it doesn’t have to be that way.”
The Coming Wave - Technology, Power, and the 21st Century’s Greatest Dilemma, Mustafa Suleyman (2023)
“This groundbreaking book from the ultimate AI insider establishes “the containment problem”—the task of maintaining control over powerful technologies—as the essential challenge of our age.”
The Coddling of the American Mind, Greg Lukianoff & Jonathan Haidt (2018)
“How good intentions and bad ideas are setting up a generation for failure”.