Few people reading this editorial – few of whom, likely, are school-aged – need the addictive nature of the modern phone explained to them.

Each of us picks up our phones many, many times throughout the day, for purposes valid … and less valid. Indeed, many of you are reading this on a phone right now (lest there be any confusion, this is an example of a very valid purpose).

A “coalition” of groups in Maine is now rallying together to drive home an obvious message: Phones are a distraction that militate against learning; they do not belong in our classrooms.

We agree unreservedly, and only wish that it did not fall to a group of rightly concerned parents to drive the message home to school administrators and policymakers: A coalition of nine Maine groups, concerned about mental health, is together pushing to get cellphones out of schools.

Mental health concerns are front-of-mind for these parents, who report everything from anxiety and depression to aggression and attention deficit in their children – struggles they attribute to excess access to technology and the compulsive use of phones, watches and other devices.

It follows that education also suffers.

Pupils in Maine and throughout the rest of the U.S. find themselves in a very challenging position in 2024. Alarming “learning loss” suffered as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic would be hard to recover from under even immaculate conditions – throw in the phones, and it becomes an academic Everest.

According to a national test conducted by the U.S. Department of Education, Maine students suffered some of the most dramatic declines in progress when it came to math and reading nationally during those years. In some cases, Maine scores dropped to the lowest point measured since the national assessments began 30 years ago.

Responding to the deeply concerning results of the “nation’s report card” in 2022, Heather Whitaker, an alternative education teacher at Gorham Middle School, put it like this: “These scores highlight what we already knew – public schools, student-teacher relationships and classroom connections play a critical role in the academic and social-emotional growth and success of our children.”

The word that jumps out in Whitaker’s quote is “connections.” That’s the magic of good schooling – that’s the glue that phone use renders null.

While we’ve all been aware of this for a long time, comprehensive policies have been slow to materialize. Just this past June, Los Angeles – home to the country’s second-largest school district – announced a ban on cellphones that will come into effect by January.

Just last Tuesday, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued an executive order to establish statewide guidance and policies on cellphone use for schools. “This essential action will promote a healthier and more focused educational environment where every child is free to learn,” Youngkin said.

Florida cracked down last year. Indiana and Ohio followed suit. New York’s restrictions are in the works.

And Maine? We’re up.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, approximately 76% of schools did not allow phones in the 2021-2022 school year.

But it seems to us that a variable, self-reported and school-by-school approach is simply no match for a firm tack taken and insisted on at the state level.

The fight against the algorithm and the social media notifications is, on its face, not a fair fight – resisting the addictive nature of these platforms will require a muscular, careful and, importantly, unified response.

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy, in a June 17 New York Times op-ed, sounded an alarm for anybody not already deafened by our increasingly phone-heavy environment.

“The mental health crisis among young people is an emergency – and social media has emerged as an important contributor. Adolescents who spend more than three hours a day on social media face double the risk of anxiety and depression symptoms, and the average daily use in this age group, as of the summer of 2023, was 4.8 hours,” Murthy wrote, continuing with a news announcement.

“It is time to require a surgeon general’s warning label on social media platforms, stating that social media is associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents.”

The school experience should be “phone-free,” Murthy noted, continuing:

“Our children’s well-being is at stake.”