June 11, 2025

Washington D.C. public schools are the latest to announce a cell-phone ban for the students during the school day. This is becoming a trend and I think it is a good one. From the reports that I have read, the schools that adopted this have seen a significant difference in students who used to have their heads buried in their phones to students now interacting with one another. 70% of high school teachers say that cell phone distraction is a major problem in their classrooms. On-line classes during Covid-19 were not successful and educators are trying to figure out how to get students back on track. Smartphones are now seen as significant hindrances to education.

The problem of these devices is both obvious and subtle. The obvious is the constant distraction from texts, notifications and updates. The subtle is how technology like smartphones can train our minds to be so, well, distractable. The average length of a TikTok video is 42.7 seconds. Instagram videos are usually closer to 15-30 seconds. The average TikTok user spends 95 minutes per day on the app. TikTok is training the mind to have an extremely short attention span. The average Instagram user is around 33 minutes per day.

It is very common to hear kids say, “I’m bored.” Some parents panic because they wrongfully believe that it is their job to fix that. A wise parent will respond by saying, “That is your choice and you can do something about it. I will give you 60 seconds to come up with some ideas and if you don’t, I will give you some things to do.” That generally takes care of the issue, however, if the kid has been discipled by social media you can see how anything like a book or listening to a lesson will feel boring if it requires concentration that goes over 90 seconds.

Of course, kids are not the problem, but the parents who fear putting good boundaries in place are. But my real aim today is to suggest that you embrace a self-imposed cellphone ban for our church service. Yes, I know that you can have your Bible on your phone and it is convenient. I use my Bible app for listening to the Bible a lot and I use it to read from many of my home and hospital visits. But when it comes to church, I think the downsides of your smartphone generally outweigh the benefits.

You may set your phone on silent for the service, but the buzz of a text or notification is hard to ignore by you and by those around you. And many of us have weather, news, sports, Facebook posts notifications, Amazon delivery updates, etc. on our phones that ding, and hum a lot. The potential for distraction is huge! Secondly, learning to exist without your Smartphone for 90 minutes or so is actually liberating. You can choose to put your phone away for a while and should! Thirdly, bringing your actual, physical Bible into the service allows you to follow along and look at parallel passages without a pop-up add or new email notifications appearing that you have to swipe away.

You may have a loved one who is in serious condition and you need to be notified if there is any change that you have to respond to. You may be someone who is on call and have to be available. Those situations are clearly understandable for you to keep your phone handy. But for those who have allowed the Smartphone to make us well, not so smart, let’s give it a break so that we can be discipled by God’s Word without needless distraction.

Grace and peace,

Bob

Sunday’s Text: Luke 12:13-21