Evelyn Hyder: 'Distracting is just what they are'

I reach for my backpack but then stop. I remember, Sadly, I retract my hand and turn my attention back to the front of the classroom. I'll have to wait until lunch to text my mom.

For anyone who isn't a teenager, a teacher, or privy to the rants of teens and/or teachers, let me explain the new phone rule.

This school year, Rochester high schools implemented a new technology policy. I returned to Lourdes High School for my senior year to find purple-and-gold phone organizers on the wall of every classroom. We are required to put our phones in the organizer at the start of the class. You can retrieve your phone when the bell rings, but it needs to be out of sight by the time you step into the hallway. The only safe place to text, in fact, is the cafeteria.

You might be able to guess why the new policy was put in place. Cell phones and education don't seem to be on speaking terms right now. In a 2021 Pew Research poll, 72% of high school teachers said phone distraction is a "major problem."

Sixteen U.S. states recently have passed laws about phones in schools. Three of those directly ban students from using phones at school. Minnesota's law, effective May 18, 2024, simply required school districts to adopt a policy about cell phone use.

I understood the reasons my school district chose the no-phone policy, but it still felt a little excessive. I thought.

On the second day of school, my AP Psychology teacher assigned the class some reading: a research paper about the effect of cellphones on cognitive capacity. Very subtle, and what I read made me rethink my relationship with my phone.

In the research experiment, three sets of college students took a test that measured their working memory and problem-solving skills. When they arrived to take the tests, each set was told to put their phones somewhere different: visible on the desk; nearby in a pocket or backpack; or in another room.

The results were clear: the group whose phones were in another room scored the highest. On the other hand, testers who had their phones visible on the desk uniformly got the worst results.

It's all that buzzing, right? Nope. Researchers repeated the experiment with the phones powered off and got the same results.

It turns out that phones aren't doing anything to be distracting; distracting is just what they are. The problem is that phones are a visual reminder of everything else in the world we could be giving attention to. I use my phone to communicate, find out the news, check email, get directions, turn in homework, write to-do lists, watch TV, update my calendar, and on and on.

So when I register my phone's presence, I subconsciously load background information about the emails I need to respond to, how my brother asked if I could pick up a book from the library, and with that dentist appointment do I have time to take the dog for a walk, and so on. It's like sitting at a desk covered in to-do lists, random papers, and knickknacks: there isn't space left to work on the task at hand.

Two months into this phoneless school year, I can see the experiment's findings supported by some of my daily experiences. This year the cafeteria is suddenly the least productive place to do homework, and the best for remembering random commitments.

I'm not a full fan of the new system. It's kind of inconvenient to forget your phone when you leave class. But for the sake of a clear mental desk, maybe I can wait until lunch to text my mom.

Or maybe I'll email her.

(Nisha Wetter, a fellow teen columnist, wrote about her experience with the new phone rule at Century High School. You can read her here .)