To the average high school student, the phone is essential to everyday life. It is where they keep their to-do lists, how they communicate with others and how they stay informed about the outside world. However, students who rely on their phones are now experiencing a major shift in their lives.

Upper school students have a wide variety of opinions on the subject.

Junior Thandi Chisango, who loves to “doomscroll,” a term used to describe the act of spending excessive time on social media, believes that students should be able to keep their phones during school.

“I don’t think they should have banned phones in public schools because if an emergency happens to someone’s parent or family member, they’re not going to know,” Chisango said.

Also, as an athlete trying to be recruited by colleges, Chisango feels an obligation to answer recruiters’ calls even during the school day.

“If you are getting recruited during class and a college calls, you can’t pick up, and it looks like you are ignoring them,” Chisango said.

Junior Tech Board representative Anusha Chowdhary says that while at public schools, the ban may be more effective, phone apps are very much integrated into a Hockaday student’s daily life.

“I have a whole Hockaday folder on my phone, which just goes to show that we can’t be banning phones,” Chowdhary said. “Mobile Serve and Volt for the fitness center, aren’t on your computer.”

Chowdhary said that allowing phones at school encourages students to develop time management skills and self-discipline.

“It’s not like [tech board] want to make students put their phones away, because obviously in the real world, you’re not just going to have to put your phone away,” Chowdhary said. “I think that’s important to realize and work around.”

However, freshman Ariel Adashek does not have a phone and is forced to interact face-to-face during school hours, which she believes is positive.

“I feel like not having a phone allows me to have a deeper and concentrated focus,” Adashek said.

Without a phone, Adashek is able to focus on schoolwork because she has no distractions around her. Adashek also expressed concern about her peers and their relationships with their phones.

“Sometimes my friends have a screentime of more than I sleep,” Adashek said. “That’s a little scary to me.”

However, Adashek does not believe that banning phones is the solution to excessive screentime and expresses concern about communication.

“I do believe there are a lot of schools that are actually putting children at risk because they won’t be able to communicate with their parents,” Adashek said. “And if they’re located in not-so-good neighborhoods, it can actually be more harmful than helpful.”

Upper School math teacher Chad Gilliland has seen how students at different schools handle their phones in different ways.

“I used to teach at a public school, and it was very detrimental,” Gilliland said. “Kids didn’t talk to each other. If there was ever free time during class, they just sat on their phones. They just didn’t communicate with each other at all.”

While he believes that phones can hinder relationships between students, he is also aware of the reality of implementing a policy like HB 1481.

“The phone is too ingrained in everybody’s life,” Gilliland said. “For example, if you told teachers they couldn’t use their phones, most wouldn’t be able to function. It is part of everybody’s life.”

Assistant Head of Upper School Lisa Fisher believes that Hockaday’s phone policy allows freedom for responsible technology usage while keeping the school environment safe and enjoyable.

“We actually have plenty of policies that should be enough to not ban cell phones but really encourage people to have more face-to-face conversations while they’re at school, be safe walking in the hallways and be engaged with the community, which is really what the point is,” Fisher said.

She said that one of the main focuses this year is to more effectively enforce the current technology policies.

“I think we can just enforce the policies we do have,” Fisher said. “I think that’s better than banning phones because it teaches our students how to use the phone appropriately, in a healthy way,”

Fisher has compiled a handout of key phone-use-related policies in the Student Handbook, which can be picked up at her office or read in the weekly email.

However, she has faith in Hockaday students using their technology responsibly.

“I have heard from so many students who are being proactive about cell phone usage,” Fisher said. “I know that some of my advisees have tried different apps that help you limit your screentime, so I do think students are very aware, and I think highly of our Hockaday students. I think that they will be able to manage this very well.”