[waste_monk]

The phone has become a vital bodily organ... it is unthinkable in the modern day to separate a student from their devices.

I think (hope!) this is just the pendulum swinging from "my kids should be my friend, so I won't support things they don't like even if it's against their best interest" back towards "I should parent my kids effectively, even if they they're upset with me for a few years". I feel like a lot of parenting and educational issues these days are attributed to parents who are overly permissive / lack a spine, for lack of a better phrase.

I feel like we had a reasonable compromise when I was at school - you carried your phone on your person and could use it during breaks, but if you were caught using it instead of paying attention in class it would get confiscated for the day (and detention etc. issued as appropriate for repeat offenders).