Schoolwork? Free time? Walking in the halls? Bathroom? With your friends? Lunch? There is one object that is used by all highschoolers in all of those places:  phones. Smartphones were introduced to the world in 2007 with the iPhone. Since then, they have spread all over the world and impacted every part of it. However, as time went on, the negative side of phones emerged. 

According to Milton-coalition, excessive phone use is related to stress, anxiety, sleep deprivation, and depression for teenagers, and there are various indications about teenagers being addicted to their cell phones. Feeling depressed or anxious when one’s phone is out of range, the inability to cut back on cell phone usage, using one’s phone most of the time when they are awake, and losing relationships with friends and family are all indicators of various mental diseases. 

The Phoenix population, though, seems to challenge the idea that phones are harming students’ mental health. In a survey of 101 students, when asked “Should Rock Ridge go phone-free?” and “Do you believe your phone negatively affects your mental health?,” the results showed that 93.1% of surveyed students replied that Rock Ridge should not go phone-free. 72.7% believe that their phone does not negatively affect their mental health.

Phoenix Motorsports presidents juniors Fady Melk and Neel Chethan both use AI for their club.  They are building a vehicle that will compete, and they need technology to do so. They use their phones for everything, and believe that they wouldn’t have founded their club if it weren’t for AI and technology. “I feel that our school needs phones because of their necessity to all students for various different reasons,” Melk said. “My club would not be as effective if we did not have access to our phones.”

Although phones create opportunities for students like Melk and Chethan,  mental health is extremely important for teenagers, and their being on their phones all the time makes it even worse. People believe it is best for high schools to go phone-free, to further reduce its effect on teenagers’ mental health. Students who want their phones in school and do not care about their effect on their mental health should be more informed of the potential risks..

Students could be more informed through many ways including the school posting more about it on social media, providing lessons in advisory about it, hanging posters on the walls all in the school, and more. The whole point is to make sure high schoolers understand the effect phones have on their mental health. This results in a win-win because the students will still have their phones in school, but they will know about its negative effects on them, making everyone better off.