I love the phone ban. It has definitely enhanced my learning experience during the school day, from 8 a.m.-2:40 p.m.. But I have noticed negative effects after the final bell rings at 2:40 p.m.
One downside I’ve noticed is that the second I get into my car, I open my phone immediately to check missed notifications. This being said, I am always rushing to beat the buses and get out as fast as possible. This means, I inevitably have to admit, sometimes I find myself checking my notifications while driving.
I am not the only one, as I have noticed an increase in students distracted while driving home. I’ve become scared of driving out of the parking lot.
The other day, I was leaving my parking spot, stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic. I was rolling at about 2 mph, then hit my brakes. I looked in my rearview mirror and saw the driver behind me with his head down, rolling closer and closer to my stopped car. Anxiously, I waited, hoping he would look up from his phone for just a second and not bump my car. At the last second, he looked up and barely avoided hitting me.
Now you might be saying, “Was that parking lot ever safe?” The short answer is, “no.” But I have definitely seen an increase in texting and driving, making it less safe than ever. When I get out of the school Wi-Fi range (the stop sign next to the pickup loop) my phone starts blowing up with all the messages and news I missed during the day. It’s really hard not to pick up my phone at that moment, harder than it ever was before.
I hope that as we get used to the phone ban, we do become less addicted to our phones in the long run. In theory, it should become easier not to pick up our phones the second we get them back. That said, I’m going to challenge myself to keep my phone off until I get home. Our parking lot won’t truly be safe until every senior makes the decision to keep their phone off until they get home. If we can wait all day without missing my phone, what is 10 extra minutes?
