A local child psychologist agrees that cell phones can create unnecessary distractions in a learning environment, but the use cell phones by students is a far more nuanced issue than is sometimes presented.

Dr. Janine Hubbard says forbidding young people from certain activities often has the opposite effect.

“That’s a challenge,” says Hubbard “that’s a ‘well, forget that, they’re not going to tell me what to do'” excuse for rebellion. She says the end result could end up causing kids to “do things in secrecy, as opposed to doing them out in the open.”

Hubbard says some people are more susceptible to distraction than others, but she says cell phones will always be with us. She prefers instructing young people on the responsible use of phones and social media.

“So we are far better off teaching responsible usage, teaching appropriate usage, (and) teaching the when and where.”