RAB Source Entry 2- Vanessa Marquez

Part 1- MLA Citation 

Paul, Pamela “It’s Not Kids With the Cellphone Problem, It’s Parents” Nov. 9, 2023 https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/09/opinion/phone-ban-teens.html?searchResultPosition=1  

Part 2- Summary 

In the opinion article “It’s Not Kids With the Cellphone Problem, It’s Parents” the author talks about their own experience of prohibiting cellphone use on her children and how other parents should do the same. She says that parents feel like their children should have their phone for safety and independence. Though this is not the case, children use their phone for other things such as scroll on social media. Studies show that if they take phones or ban them it will show positive outcomes like reducing bullying and higher student engagement. This article’s main idea is that cellphone use should be banned in schools, and that parents should overcome their own criticism and acknowledge that they have a role to play in influencing their children’s use of technology. They can help their kids perform better in school and be less distracted. Pamela mentions how kids learn values from their parents not their phone. Parents should support the idea of banning because it would be best for the students. Pamela feels like both parents and school should support addressing the challenges associated with cellphones. 

Part 3- Reflection 

“Little surprise then, that a new study by Common Sense Media found that 97 percent of teen and pre-teen respondents said they use their phones during the school day, for a median of 43 minutes, primarily for social media, gaming and YouTube.” 

During high school we never had a policy prohibiting cellphones until my senior year. Many teachers would be frustrated that their students would record themselves dancing, texting each other in class and scrolling through TikTok. I’ve personally realized how using social media, scrolling through Instagram, or listening to music could impact my ability to learn. I can’t believe that 97% of students use their phone in class. I honestly thought it would be at least 60% of students that would use it but almost everyone does. Now I understand why many schools want to ban cellphones use. Many are normalizing the use of technology thinking it won’t cause any problems. In reality it causes bullying or distraction. I’ve seen it before where students would record others fighting and posting it online. 

Part 4- Rhetorical Analysis 

This is an opinion article by Pamela Paul. Pamela Paul became an Opinion columnist for The New York Times in 2022. She was also a recent editor of The New York Times book review for nine years where she oversaw book coverage and hosted book review podcast. She is also an author of eight books. The purpose for writing this article is to share their perspective of the challenges with cellphone use among children and show the negative impact of this. Also, how schools should restrict the use of cellphones and how parents should also be encouraging their children at home and at school. The intended audience for this article is for the parents. The tone is informative to show why there should be a ban on cellphones. The genre of this piece is an opinion, she shows her own personal experiences, observation and tries to persuade her audience to understand the challenges that cellphone use can cause to students. The author is credible because it is published in the New York Times, a very trustworthy site, and has also written other articles. The article was written recently on November 9, 2023. It is important to know when it was written because we would need to know if the topic is relevant, not only that if it’s a very old article let’s say 2009 things can change over time. 

Part 5- Notable Quotables 

“Now the enforcers are coming in. As Natasha Singer reported recently in The Times, Florida has issued a statewide prohibition against student cellphone use in the classroom, and school districts elsewhere, including those in South Portland, Maine, and Charlottesville, Va., have made similar moves.” (Paul) 

 
“The not-shocking result: less bullying, increased student engagement, even actual eye contact between students and teachers in the hallway.” (Paul) 

“The news that some districts are cracking down on cellphones is thus a bewildering case of competing interests among kids, administrators, teachers, parents and other parents. It overturns many pro-tech school policies embraced before Covid and resorted to during lockdown. It’s also the smartest thing schools can do, and it’s about time it got done.” (Paul) 

 
“When parents say our kids are the ones with the cellphone problem, we’re just kidding ourselves.” (Paul)