In Defense of Phone Usage

Lawrenceville prevents students from using their phones in the dining halls, School Meetings, and academic buildings, threatening confiscation, yet often failing to fully enforce this policy. By limiting phone usage, the School hopes to improve mental health, boost socialization, and encourage students to be aware of the world around us. Of course, there are moments when putting cell phones away is necessary to show respect to those around us, but the current policy ignores how phones can be beneficial to the social and personal goals Lawrenceville itself has set.

Phones should absolutely be put away during School Meetings. The people on stage deserve our respect. Full stop. Even if you are occupied by an upcoming test or away game, you still owe it to the presenters to try and pay attention. We cannot stop ourselves from being tired, distracted, or stressed, and that is okay; however, we can choose to put away our phones. Even if you are truly too tired to offer up genuine attention, using your phone during School Meetings indicates that you do not care about what announcers have to say and ignore basic civility. Similarly, using your phone during classes disrespects your teachers and classmates and diminishes your education. Meanwhile, walking while looking at your phone is quite frankly a safety hazard. 

Phones, however, have important practical uses, making navigating life without one quite arduous. For one, phones are important methods of communication with other students and our guardians. Even faculty members assume that students have phones to receive important information like house meeting times or to submit Canvas assignments.  Secondly, many students carry their key-fob around on their phones. Some teachers might not have the forethought to make sure a student takes their fob out before confiscating a phone, leaving students locked out of buildings and their rooms. Even if the student does remember to take their fob out, it can still be difficult to keep track of a fob on its own, which could result in a $15 charge for a new one. Plus, finding the 10 to 15 minutes to retrieve your phone from the Dean of Students Office would be virtually impossible on a busy day. 

Most importantly, not all occasions wherein phones are banned actually require this level of attention to show respect. While eating meals or sitting in an academic building, you can use your phone without disrespecting the people around you. In fact, in some of these moments, phones can actually foster your connections to others and your awareness. For example, last year, my friends and I used to do The New York Times Connections during lunch. It would give us something to talk about and an opportunity to distance ourselves from our stressors. I even got more accustomed to making mistakes when working with others. When we were getting to know new students, using phones became an easy way to get them involved. Phones became tools that strengthen our relationships. Phones are part of how we socialize now, and that is not necessarily a bad thing. 

In addition, disengaging can be necessary sometimes, and phones can be a practical way to facilitate it. Lawrentians are constantly surrounded by other people: Meals and brief moments in academic buildings are the only breaks of the day for many.  Why are we expected to be intensely engaged even in our fleeting moments of rest? We must be able to use our limited free time however we need to, even if that means staring at our phones. Taking someone’s phone away not only eliminates this option, but it can also punish them for choosing to have alone time and sets an expectation for students to be constantly sociable, burning students out and hampering true connection. 

Dear reader: When you observe someone breaking the no-phone rules, if they are not disrespecting or endangering themselves or anyone else, it is better to simply leave them be.