Cellphone bans in Texas classrooms cut distraction, but bring anxiety, psychologist says

School cellphone restrictions are spreading across the United States, and early evidence from Texas suggests they are changing classroom life in ways both welcome and worrying, according to a psychologist studying the shift.

Dr. Israel Arevalo, an assistant research scientist and school psychologist at the Texas A&M Health Telehealth Institute, said the case for limits rests on how children develop. Humans are not built to relate to one another mainly through screens, he said, and face-to-face contact is what teaches pro-social behaviour and the reading of emotion. Facial expressions and body language are difficult to interpret through a computer screen, he added, and children who do not interact in person miss the chance to learn those skills.

A former elementary school teacher in Texas, Arevalo recalled that phones and other devices were a persistent source of distraction in his own classroom, even among young pupils. He noted that rules vary by classroom, grade level, school and district, but that Texas now requires all school districts to set consequences and monitor student phone use more closely.

A year after a state law barred student cellphone use during the school day, he said, the feedback from the field has been largely positive. His team has spoken with serving teachers, administrators, special education personnel such as speech pathologists, and other psychologists. Across the board, he said, they report that distraction in class has fallen and face-to-face interaction has increased. Some teachers say students are no longer on their phones during free time and have taken up board games and other activities that encourage pro-social behaviour.

Enforcement, however, is far from uniform. Some districts impose lighter penalties, such as a verbal warning to put the phone away, while others have reportedly charged a fee for the return of a confiscated device.

The gains come with a drawback. Arevalo described the anxiety some students feel when separated from their phones as a normal human emotion, but noted that adults generally have coping tools — a run, music, a long drive — that children have not yet developed. Some children may not even recognise what anxiety is, he said, which is why the symptoms deserve attention.

Arevalo said he is not in favour of removing technology altogether. A self-described technology enthusiast, he suggested families can weave devices into their routines — playing a game such as Minecraft together or learning to code — while closely monitoring screen time. Interventions work best, he argued, when they are applied consistently across settings. If schools are prohibiting communication devices outright, households can at least reduce the time spent on them at home.