Written by Arthur de Melo Ellwanger
Cell phones have become essential in modern life, connecting people, providing access to information, and offering many tools for learning and entertainment. However their constant presence has also led to addiction, with many people, especially students, spending excessive time on their phones. Recognizing this growing issue EAC has decided to ban cell phones on campus in an effort to reduce distractions and improve focus during the school day. To explore how this decision has impacted the community, I will gather interviews to understand the opinions and reactions of students and teachers.
The cell phone ban at EAC has received mixed opinions from the school community. Some students see both the good and bad sides of this rule. For example, Victor fogaça feels both ways about the ban. He thinks it makes it harder to communicate with parents and handle emergencies, which is a downside. However, he also believes the ban has helped students interact more and build stronger friendships. Luca Naas agrees that student interactions have improved since the ban, but he also feels that phones should not have been completely banned. He said that before, students used to play games together on their phones during lunch, and that was a way of socializing.
Enzo believes that cell phones should not have been banned at EAC. In his view, students found ways to have fun both with and without their phones, so there was no need to ban them completely. He thinks that, regardless of whether phones were allowed, students still managed to enjoy themselves in different ways
Tomas Lima, however, doesn’t think the ban made a big difference. He noticed that even though students were unhappy about it at first, they soon got used to not using phones during school. To him, the lack of phones did not change much in students’ behavior or routines
Teachers mostly see the ban as a good thing. Daniel Pires, a teacher at EAC, supports the rule because, before the ban, he often saw students glued to their phones. Since the ban, students have found new ways to have fun, like chatting with friends and playing games like truco. Daniel mentioned that other teachers also noticed students seemed happier and more social. For him, the ban has been positive for the school environment
Overall, the ban on cell phones at EAC had various opinions within the community. While some students feel that it limits their ability to communicate and entertain themselves, others think that it has led to better social interactions and friendships. Teachers like Daniel Pires, have observed a positive shift in the school atmosphere, with students becoming more engaged and happier without the distraction of cell phones. The ban has created a more connected and interactive environment at EAC, even if some challenges remain.
EAC PRESS 
Parabéns pela matéria, Arthur! Eu estava mesmo curiosa para saber sobre a repercussão desta nova regra na escola.
Teacher Andréa
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I personally believe that a complete ban on cell phones was unnecessary and excessive. The “No Cell Phone Day” on Wednesdays was already initiative, showing positive results by encouraging more face-to-face interaction. Perhaps extending it to two days per week could further reduce phone dependency without entirely eliminating students’ access to their cell phones.
First of all, I see the importance of phones as more than just a distraction. They are great tools for our learning and communication, from taking photos of class notes, submitting assignments, reviewing notes for upcoming test, finding inspo pictures for art projects to handling personal safety in case of emergency.
Moreover, phones were actually another way to foster community, as Enzo Araujo pointed out. While students can indeed connect and enjoy themselves without phones, if the school is going to restrict their usage of phones, it’s important to provide alternative ways to encourage interaction and effectively address issues like addiction and depression. For instance, the school could consider allowing students to play sports during lunch time, designating certain classrooms for socializing, or creating more space specifically for high school students to gather comfortably.
From my personal experience, the lack of dedicated spaces for high schoolers has, in some ways, caused further problems. With no comfortable place to gather and connect, the students often end up staring at our own computers until the next class starts, which simply shifts our screen addiction from phones to laptops, rather than addressing the issue of distraction or addition. The goal of phone ban may have been to reduce these challenges, but without adequate support or alternative options, it has unintentionally led to new ones.
While this restriction on phones might have helped reduce phone addiction and the following depression by encouraging more genuine connections, it has also introduced new challenges. I strongly believe that a more balanced approach rather than restrictive rule of completely banning cell phones would likely have achieved the intended goals more effectively.
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