It’s Time to Keep Phones Out of Classrooms

Classrooms across the country are facing a pandemic of distraction—incessant buzzing, pinging and chiming competing with teachers and classmates for student attention. The culprit? Smartphones and the apps on them, especially social media.

As the CEO of Pinterest and a tech executive who has spent decades in the industry, I’m acutely aware of how algorithms are often designed to keep users’ eyes glued to their screens. As a parent, I see how the apps can be more addictive than additive...