Do smartphone bans work if parents push back?

As many kids head back to school this year to more strict cellphone bans, some of the biggest pushback against removing smartphones from classrooms comes from parents. 

“What if there’s a school shooting,” an anonymous member of the Parenting in a Tech World Facebook Group asks. “We decided it is time to get (our 10-year-old) a phone so we can track her and communicate with her while she is away from us,” comments another mom on a separate thread in the group.  

A National Parents Union poll earlier this year shows that while most parents are worried about some of the harms associated with smartphones − especially social media's influence on kids − they want their children to have phones in class in case of an emergency.