Commentary: The way phones affect my students in the classroom has me worried about their futures

“We know TikTok is bad for us, but it’s better than the real world.”

These were the words of one of my ninth grade students, a tall, skinny teenager with thick black glasses. He announced this to our freshman English class on the last day of school last spring.

We were having a classroom discussion about their futures. Some mentioned taking health and driver’s education in summer school; others mentioned jobs at the beach and community center.

“But I’m worried about our future down the road,” the student added, gesturing toward an unseen horizon.