Study reveals student smartphone habits as NYS considers statewide ban

Legislation proposed in Governor Kathy Hochul’s 2026 Executive Budget aims to restrict smartphone use in K-12 schools statewide, “creating a standard for distraction-free learning,” according to the New York State website. Northport-East Northport Superintendent of Schools Dr. Dave Moyer, however, believes districts should retain control over setting their own rules; policies are already in place within the school district that significantly limit students’ smartphone use, he said. 

Per the state’s website, Governor Hochul’s proposal calls for a ban on the “unsanctioned use of smartphones and other internet-enabled personal devices on school grounds in K-12 schools for the entire school day.” Exemptions would be made for students who require internet-enabled devices for medical reasons, as part of an Individualized Education Program (IEP), or for translation purposes.

The legislation also mandates that schools develop storage plans for smartphones during the day. To assist with this transition, the governor has proposed $13.5 million in funding for schools that need help purchasing storage solutions. Additionally, the law would require schools to provide parents with a way to contact their children if necessary.

Currently, both middle schools have an “off and away” policy, and the high school requires students to place their phones in a storage device upon entering the classroom, Superintendent Moyer told the Journal. “These policies are working. I believe that we are at the point where nearly all school districts have similar policies,” Moyer said. 

The superintendent criticized Hochul’s proposal as “misguided,” arguing that such decisions should be made at the local level. “The New York Council of School Superintendents is strongly advocating that if she insists on moving forward with this, she revises her position to require districts to have a policy – but not dictate what that policy must be,” he said.

Despite these differences, both Hochul’s proposed law and Northport-East Northport’s current policies share the goal of limiting smartphone use during instructional time –  research suggests that without policies in place, students are spending too much time on their devices. 

A study published on February 3 offers new insight into student smartphone use during school hours, as well as the platforms students use most while in school. Led by Northport resident Lauren Hale, a public health and pediatric researcher at Stony Brook University, the study found that adolescents (ages 13-18) spent an average of 1.5 hours on their smartphones during the 6.5-hour school day.

Smartphone use during school hours accounted for approximately 27% of their total daily phone use, which averaged 5.59 hours.

The study, which analyzed data from 117 adolescents across the country using the RealityMeter app, further found that 25% of participants spent more than two hours on their phones during school.

Researchers also identified the most-used apps and content categories during school hours. Excluding internet browsers, the top activities included messaging, Instagram, video streaming, audio and email. The analyses show high levels of social media use during school, the report states, with the average user spending 25 minutes on Instagram per school day.

“They’re spending too much time on the phone during the school day, that’s my take,” Hale told the Journal in an interview this morning. “School hours are precious, even the breaks between class and lunch should be used for interacting with peers in real time,” Hale continued. When students use their phones during the school day, it interferes with special opportunities to interact with neighbors and friends, she said.  

Hale said that “any policy is better than no policy,” and with two boys at Northport Middle School, she appreciates the district’s cell phone rules because they’re beneficial to the learning and social development of students. She did note, however, that policies will be more effective if they are coordinated and widespread, so there is no expectation of teens communicating during the school hours. 

Regarding a desire among parents to allow students to communicate with them during the school day, whether it be to coordinate afterschool plans or to check in, Hale said that parents and caregivers have gotten too used to connecting with kids in the middle of the day. “For decades, before smartphones, if students needed to contact their parents during the day, they’d go to the nurse or the front office,” she said. Parents can coordinate plans before or after school, and students can reach out through the nurse or front office if there’s an issue during the day, Hale said. “It sounds very fuddy-duddy, but it did work.”