Social media self-control among students
Students are seeking to better manage their engagement with cellphone and social media use, with practical strategies and shared reflection.
In the US, school policies towards student cellphones range from outright bans to 'acceptable' in-class use. Here, a student places her cellphone into a holder before entering class at Delta High School, in Delta, Utah.
AP/File
With a new academic year due to start in the United States, states and districts are seeking to manage students鈥� cellphone use during the school day. Proposals range from developing usage guidelines to implementing outright bans.
Amid the discussion over what adults 鈥� educators, parents, policymakers 鈥� should do, students are signaling their ability to exercise individual agency. And they want nuanced and flexible approaches to help balance use and manage screen time.
In a 2025 Pew survey in the U.S., 44% of teens reported cutting back on both social media and smartphone use. In 2023, that share was 39% (social media) and 36% (smartphones). A wider survey of 20,000 children ages 12 to 15 and parents across 18 countries found 40% of students taking deliberate breaks from their screens, up 18 percentage points from 2022.
鈥淐hildren have got the message 鈥� from their parents, the media, their own experiences 鈥� that too much social media isn鈥檛 always good for them,鈥� Sonia Livingstone, who heads the Digital Futures for Children center in London, told The Guardian this month. 鈥淪o they are experimenting with different ways of protecting their wellbeing, ... talking to each other about what works.鈥� Some of these measures include deactivating notifications or applying 鈥渄o not disturb鈥� settings.
When it comes to the classroom, rather than bans, some teachers are calling for 鈥渁cceptable use鈥� policies that foster real-life self-control 鈥� and harness the technology for learning.
鈥淎I is already reshaping tomorrow鈥檚 workplace, and for the sake of students鈥� success, schools have to take the fear out of technology,鈥� two Connecticut superintendents wrote on the education site The 74. 鈥淭here鈥檚 power in those cellphones sitting in students鈥� pockets and backpacks. It鈥檚 up to educators to get them to use it the right way.鈥�
One example of supporting 鈥渞ight鈥� use is a student-led 鈥淪ocratic seminar鈥� in Aurora, Colorado. Colorado Public Radio reported in May how high school freshmen discuss digital connections, track their usage over several weeks, and learn about the powerful network algorithms that feed them content.
鈥淣ow I know that it鈥檚 actually designed to keep me scrolling on it ... so that they can make money,鈥� one student said. Another reported that the class caused her screen time to go down from five hours a day to just one or two.
The freshmen visit middle schools to share insights and encourage younger students to monitor their own habits. 鈥淎 teacher can say 鈥榩ut your phone away鈥� a million times,鈥� their teacher Ryan Clapp said. But, he noted, meaningful change comes when students can reflect with each other.