https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/06/12/72-percent-of-us-high-school-teachers-say-cellphone-distraction-is-a-major-problem-in-the-classroom/ Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World * Newsletters * Press * My Account * Donate * Contacted By Us? Read our research on: * Gun Policy * International Conflict * Election 2024 Search [ ] * Research Topics Topics Politics & Policy International Affairs Immigration & Migration Race & Ethnicity Religion Age & Generations Gender & LGBTQ Family & Relationships Economy & Work Science Internet & Technology News Habits & Media Methodological Research Full Topic List Regions & Countries Asia & the Pacific Europe & Russia Latin America Middle East & North Africa North America Sub-Saharan Africa Multiple Regions / Worldwide Formats Feature Fact Sheet Video Data Essay * Publications * Our Methods * Short Reads * Tools & Resources * Experts * About Us * + Research Topics + Publications + Short Reads + Tools & Resources + About Pew Research Center + Newsletters + My Account + Contacted By Us? * Search [ ] Read Our Research On: + Gun Policy + International Conflict + Election 2024 Home Research Topics Other Topics Education K-12 * Short Reads | June 12, 2024 * X * Facebook * Threads * LinkedIn * WhatsApp Share 72% of U.S. high school teachers say cellphone distraction is a major problem in the classroom By Jenn Hatfield Two teenage girls take a break from their schoolwork to play with a smart phone.(SDI Productions via Getty Images) New York Gov. Kathy Hochul recently announced that she will introduce legislation to ban smartphones in schools during her state's 2025 legislative session. She cited the impact that social media and technology can have on youth, including leaving them "cut off from human connection, social interaction and normal classroom activity." Hochul's legislative push comes as K-12 teachers in the United States face challenges around students' cellphone use, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in fall 2023. One-third of public K-12 teachers say students being distracted by cellphones is a major problem in their classroom, and another 20% say it's a minor problem. How we did this Following news that New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is seeking to ban smartphones in schools, Pew Research Center published this analysis to examine how K-12 teachers and teens in the United States feel about cellphones, including the use of cellphones at school. This analysis is based on two recent Center surveys, one of public K-12 teachers in the U.S. and the other of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17. More information about these surveys, including their field dates, sample sizes and other methodological details, is available at the links in the text. A bar chart showing that high school teachers most likely to say cellphone distraction is a major problem. High school teachers are especially likely to see cellphones as problematic. About seven-in-ten (72%) say that students being distracted by cellphones is a major problem in their classroom, compared with 33% of middle school teachers and 6% of elementary school teachers. Many schools and districts have tried to address this challenge by implementing cellphone policies, such as requiring students to turn off their phones during class or give them to administrators during the school day. Overall, 82% of K-12 teachers in the U.S. say their school or district has a cellphone policy of some kind. Middle school teachers (94%) are especially likely to say this, followed by elementary (84%) and high school (71%) teachers. A diverging bar chart showing that most high school teachers say cellphone policies are hard to enforce. However, 30% of teachers whose schools or districts have cellphone policies say they are very or somewhat difficult to enforce. High school teachers are more likely than their peers to report that enforcing these policies is difficult. Six-in-ten high school teachers in places with a cellphone policy say this, compared with 30% of middle school teachers and 12% of elementary school teachers. Our survey asked teachers about cellphones in general, whereas Hochul's plan would apply only to smartphones. Even so, nearly all U.S. teenagers ages 13 to 17 - 95% - say they have access to a smartphone, according to a separate Center survey from 2023. Even as some policymakers and teachers see downsides to smartphones, teens tend to view the devices as a more positive than negative thing in their lives overall. A diverging bar chart showing that most teens say the benefits of smartphones outweigh the harms for people their age. Seven-in-ten teens ages 13 to 17 say there are generally more benefits than harms to people their age using smartphones, while three-in-ten say the opposite. And 45% of teens say smartphones make it easier for people their age to do well in school, compared with 23% who say they make it harder. Another 30% say smartphones don't affect teens' success in school. Topics * K-12 * Smartphones Share This Link: [https://www.pewresea] * X * Facebook * Threads * LinkedIn * WhatsApp Share Jenn Hatfield is a writer/editor at Pew Research Center. Related short readsJun 6, 2024 U.S. public, private and charter schools in 5 charts short readsMay 15, 2024 A quarter of U.S. teachers say AI tools do more harm than good in K-12 education short readsApr 24, 2024 Most Americans think U.S. K-12 STEM education isn't above average, but test results paint a mixed picture short readsApr 11, 2024 About 1 in 4 U.S. teachers say their school went into a gun-related lockdown in the last school year short readsApr 4, 2024 About half of Americans say public K-12 education is going in the wrong direction TOPICS * K-12 * Smartphones Most Popular 1 Cultural Issues and the 2024 Election 2 How Americans Navigate Politics on TikTok, X, Facebook and Instagram 3 Globally, Biden Receives Higher Ratings Than Trump 4 Israeli Views of the Israel-Hamas War 5 The State of the American Middle Class 1615 L St. NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20036 USA (+1) 202-419-4300 | Main (+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax (+1) 202-419-4372 | Media Inquiries Research Topics Politics & Policy International Affairs Immigration & Migration Race & Ethnicity Religion Age & Generations Gender & LGBTQ Family & Relationships Economy & Work Science Internet & Technology News Habits & Media Methodological Research Follow Us * Email Newsletters * Instagram * Facebook * X * Tumblr * YouTube * RSS Feed ABOUT PEW RESEARCH CENTER Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts. (c) 2024 Pew Research Center * About * Terms & Conditions * Privacy Policy * Cookie Settings * Reprints, Permissions & Use Policy * Feedback * Careers