NEW YORK, August 26: Isabella Pires first noticed what she calls the “pandemic of gradual apathy” in eighth grade. Only a handful of classmates signed up for the service projects she helped organize at her school in Massachusetts. And even fewer actually showed up.

When Isabella entered high school last fall, she found the problem was even worse: a lackluster spirit week and classes where students barely spoke to each other. In some ways, it’s as if students are “caring less and less about what people think, but somehow more,” said 14-year-old Isabella.

Some teens, she says, don’t care if they seem disinterested, while others are so afraid of ridicule that they prefer to keep to themselves. She blames social media and the prolonged isolation in the post-COVID era. Educators say their tried-and-tested lesson plans are no longer enough to keep students engaged in an era of mental health issues, shortened attention spans, lower attendance and poorer academic performance.

At the heart of these challenges? Cellphone addiction. Now adults are trying new strategies to overcome the discomfort. Cellphone bans are becoming increasingly popular, but many say they are not enough. They are advocating alternative suggestions: steering students outdoors or to extracurricular activities to fill the time they would otherwise spend alone online. And students need opportunities to talk about taboo topics without fear of being “logged out” on social media.

“To motivate students today, you have to be very, very creative,” says Wilbur Higgins, an English teacher at Dartmouth High School, where Isabella will be a sophomore in the fall. Cell phone bags, lockers and bins have become increasingly popular as a way to enforce device bans. John Nguyen, a chemistry teacher in California, invented a bag system because he was so bothered by bullying and cell phone fights during class, often without adult intervention.

Many teachers are afraid to call out their students for using cell phones during class, Nguyen says, and others have given up trying to stop it. At Nguyen’s school, students lock their phones in neoprene bags during class or even all day. The bags open with a magnetic key from a teacher or principal. It doesn’t matter how dynamic the class is, says Nguyen, who teaches at Marina Valley High School and now distributes the bags to other schools. “There’s nothing that can compete with the cell phone.” Some schools also lock away smartwatches and wireless headphones.

But the bags don’t work once the final school bell rings. So schools in Spokane, Washington, are expanding their extracurricular activities to compete with cell phones after school. An initiative launching this month, “Engage IRL” – in real life – aims to give every student something to look forward to after school, whether it’s sports, performing arts or a club. “Sitting at home on a personal device for hours every day after school has become the norm,” said school board member Adam Swinyard. Students can start clubs around interests like board games and knitting or join neighborhood basketball leagues.

Teachers will help students make a plan for how to engage in back-to-school meetings, the district says. “From 3 to 5:30 p.m., you’re in a club, you’re playing a sport, you’re participating in an activity,” rather than on the phone, Swinyard said. (The district has enacted a new ban on phones during class, but will allow them after school.) At a time of high absenteeism rates, he also hopes the activities will provide the extra push some students need to attend school.

In a Gallup poll conducted last November, only 48% of middle and high school students said they felt motivated to go to school, and only 52% felt they did something interesting every day. The poll was funded by the Walton Family Foundation, which also supports environmental journalism at AP. Vivian Mead, a rising senior from Spokane, said more extracurricular activities would help, but wouldn’t work for everyone.

“There are definitely still some people who just want to be alone, listen to music, do their own thing or be on the phone,” said Vivian, 17. Her 15-year-old sister Alexandra said the morning counseling sessions had improved participation in the drama club that keeps the sisters busy. “It forces everyone to try something, even if they don’t want to join, and maybe then it’ll click,” she said.

Thirteen middle schools in Maine took a similar approach, taking their students outdoors for a total of 35,000 hours during a select week in May. It was encouraging for students to connect with one another in nature, away from screens, said Tim Pearson, a physical education and health teacher. His students at Dedham School took part in the statewide “Life Happens Outside” challenge. Teachers adapted their classes to be held outdoors, and students socialized outside during lunch and recess. In the evenings, about half of Dedham’s students camped out, inspired by a pizza party.

Several students told Pearson that they went camping again after the challenge. “Whether they had cell phones or not, they were making fires and setting up their tents,” Pearson said. “They were doing things outside that obviously had nothing to do with social media or texting.” Parents also need to change their family’s cell phone culture, some teachers say. At home, Ohio teacher Aaron Taylor blocks cell phones when his own children have friends over.

And when children are in school, parents shouldn’t distract them all day with text messages asking about their children, he said. “Students are so attached to their families,” said Taylor, who teaches at Westerville North High School near Columbus. “There’s this fear of not being able to reach them, instead of enjoying the freedom of being alone or with friends for eight hours.”

Some say cell phones are only exacerbating other causes of youth disengagement. The divisive political climate often means students don’t want to attend class because anything they say can be broadcast across the school on a messaging app. Taylor’s high school English students tell him they don’t speak in class because they don’t want to be “canceled” – a term used for public figures who are silenced or boycotted after making offensive opinions or statements. “I say, ‘So who’s cancelling you? And why would you be cancelled?’

We’re talking about “The Great Gatsby,” not a controversial political issue, he said. Students “get very, very quiet” when issues like sexuality, gender or politics are raised in novels, said Higgins, the Massachusetts English teacher. “Eight years ago, hands went up everywhere. Nobody wants to be pushed in a certain direction or ridiculed or called out for their politics anymore.” That’s why Higgins uses websites like Parlay, which allow students to discuss anonymously online.

The services are expensive, but Higgins believes the class’s commitment is worth it. “I can see who they are when they respond to questions and stuff, but other students can’t see that,” Higgins said. “It can be very, very invasive.” Isabella, Higgins’ student, was alarmed by her peers’ disinterest and wrote an op-ed in her school’s newspaper. “It’s up to us to prevent future generations from falling into this downward cycle,” she wrote. A comment on the post highlighted the challenge and what’s at stake. “All in all,” the commenter wrote, “why should we care?”