Spike O’Neill backs schools banning cell phones: ‘Kids are far too exposed to social media’

Local Hamilton International and Robert Eagle Staff middle schools operated under an “away for the day” policy, keeping phones locked up during the school day, as explained on Seattle Public Schools’ website. CBC reported Thursday that the Canadian province of Quebec also plans on banning cell phones in schools.

Spike O’Neill, co-host of “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio, agrees that phones can negatively affect children.

“I love the idea that schools will allow kids to have their phones for social interactions during lunchtime, but the rest of the day, if it’s out, it’s gone,” he shared. “I like teachers who confiscate phones. I think kids are far too exposed to social media and everything else about them, and it is to the detriment of social skills.”

Spike argued that parents who worry they won’t be able to reach their children at school should know, “for generations and generations, kids were reached during emergencies without cell phone access.”

He also added that phones take away from the present moment.

“Kids who spend so much time looking down at their phones or interacting or talking, kids can be sitting in the same room and talking to each other by text,” Spike said. “I’ve seen it happen in my own home for years. Instead of looking across the room and talking to people, they’re texting each other, sharing little jokes, and chuckling at the expense of the adults in the room.”

Listen to the full conversation below.

Listen to “The Jake and Spike Show” weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.