Cellphone bans in Minnesota schools are getting more scrutiny, including from students

He also asked the organizers how they would feel if they were students facing such restrictions.

Mann said, “We’re all addicted to our phones.”

But as an emergency room doctor, she added, she can’t have anyone around her at work. That would be a violation of hospital regulations, Mann said. Sure, it might make her anxious, she said, but it also shows that having to put down your phone isn’t unique to schools.

“Perhaps we can look at it as a skill that we need to learn,” she said.