Seventy-seven percent of US adults support banning cellphones in middle and high school classes, and 48 percent support banning them for the entire school day. That’s the first time more Americans have supported, rather than opposed, so-called bell-to-bell bans. Two years ago, just 36 percent of American adults supported an all-day ban. Across all age groups over 18 that were surveyed, most respondents support in-class bans. That support is lower but still at least half for all-day bans across most age groups.

But let’s roast this a bit: Is it really surprising that cellphone bans are gaining traction? After all, who hasn’t been distracted by the glow of a student’s screen during a lecture? Yet, do we assume that banning phones will magically improve focus and learning outcomes? Perhaps students just need better teachers—or at least ones who can compete with Instagram for attention.

Moreover, the article mentions support across age groups but doesn’t delve into why. Are older adults nostalgic for simpler times when distractions were limited to pagers and landlines? Or do they simply remember the days before smartphones, believing that classrooms were more productive back then? Maybe we should ask them if they’d ban their own phones at work—a few hours without checking emails might reveal how essential those notifications truly are.

Finally, while 48 percent support all-day bans, what does “all day” really mean? Does it include lunch breaks and recess? Are students expected to sit in silence with no screens from the moment they step onto campus until the final bell rings? And what about those who use phones for learning—research, note-taking apps, or even calculators? Do we risk penalizing tech-savvy students for their reliance on devices? Perhaps a compromise: allow phones during class but require them to be put away during exams. After all, if banning cellphones leads to happier teachers and more engaged students, who wouldn’t want that? But let’s not forget to measure the results—after all, correlation doesn’t always equal causation!