As Texas Bans Cellphones in School, UTD Expert Offers Tips to Ditch the Device

07.31.2025

Now that Texas lawmakers are requiring public schools to ban cellphones during class time, should adults also consider a personal-device detox?

The new law, House Bill 1481, is set to take effect Sept. 1, a few weeks after students start school.

Coinciding with this new law is a “dumbphones” trend, which is a way parents can still stay in touch with their kids without all the addictive apps. Dumbphones do not have web browsers or the ability to download apps. In addition to being able to send or receive calls, they offer basic text messaging, a calculator, a notes function, a clock, an alarm and perhaps a camera.

Adults are also jumping on the trend by turning their smartphone screens gray, limiting notifications or deleting apps to make them less appealing.

A University of Texas at Dallas social media expert says there are benefits to unplugging.

Dr. Janet Johnson, author of the book Political Rhetoric, Social Media, and American Presidential Campaigns: Candidates’ Use of New Media, said research has shown that when people limit their social media activity, their anxiety and depression decrease. Johnson is an associate professor of instruction in communication studies in the Harry W. Bass Jr. School of Arts, Humanities, and Technology.

In the July 15 issue of JAMA, researchers from California and New York found that adolescents who were addicted to social media or smartphones had a higher risk of suicidal behaviors. Research published in April in JAMA Pediatrics determined that teens used smartphones an average of one-and-a-half hours a day during school hours.

If parents want their children to reduce their screen time, Johnson said, adults also need to put away their phones when spending time with them – especially as kids get used to being device-free while at school.

Johnson also offered these tips:

1.  Set time limits for specific apps, and schedule time to scroll social media.
2.  Charge a cellphone away from the bedroom so it’s harder to access late at night or first thing in the morning. In other words, don’t use it as an alarm clock.
3.  Put the phone away while running errands or shopping.
4.  Make outings with friends or family dinners a phone-free time.
5.  Choose specific accounts to follow instead of doomscrolling through random ones chosen by an algorithm.
6.  Block social media accounts or followers that zap time.
7.  It’s OK not to text back automatically. Don’t let others have 24/7 access to you.
8.  Give up the device for a day. Boredom promotes creativity. Give your mind a break, and be bored.

“Overall, practice progress over perfection,” Johnson said. “Any time away from the screen is better than none.”

More information: The Laboratory for Healthy Social-Emotional Development in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences is conducting a two-week study on social media’s effects on teens ages 13 to 16. For more information, call 972-883-3832.

–Veronica Gonzalez