Call Me Maybe? Young Futures is Reimagining Phones in Schools

A $500K rapid response funding initiative seeded by Pinterest for solutions that empower pre-teens, teens, families, and educators to navigate the complexities of phone use in schools.

When I was a teenager, I spent hours on the phone (landline!) with friends every evening, eventually leveling up to a pager (yup) in high school, and cell phone in college. I still remember how miraculous it felt to be able to make plans and connect with friends on the go. The common theme that still rings true with today’s teens: using tech for connection. But there is one major difference—these were not smartphones. In today’s world, devices have launched us far beyond basic connection into the land of creativity, boundless possibilities…and also distraction. And there is no place where this issue is more glaring than at school.

The reality is, phones create an avalanche of complications in learning environments. Studies have shown that in school settings, phones are a major source of distraction, disrupt learning outcomes, negatively impact teacher morale, and hinder in-school social connection. As the mother of an 8- and 10-year-old, I already see the way devices, from iPads to computers, are beginning to crowd the lives of my children and their peers. And as they firmly enter their pre-teen and teen years and eventually get their own phones or smartwatches, I want school to be a place where they can grow their minds, and their communities, distraction-free.

In a perfect world, you’d think a flat-out phone ban would fix this. And it is certainly a popular approach, with eight states already implementing statewide school phone bans or restrictions and another 16 states introducing legislation along these lines. The truth is, the situations schools are facing are varied and complicated, and enforcing these bans is tough—often burdening educators with policing technology in their own classrooms. Parents (yes, I’m looking at all of us ??) complicate this further, antagonizing the issue by wanting frequent contact with their children throughout the school day.?

It’s also important to be realistic about why pre-teens and teens are reaching for their phones during the school day. At Young Futures, we prioritize listening to young people, and over the past few months, our team has spoken to many pre-teens, teens, parents, educators, and administrators to get to the heart of this issue. Here are just some of the legitimate reasons we heard about again and again:

• School Resources: In districts with limited or insufficient resources for chromebooks, schools rely on student use of personal devices to complete assignments. This has become even truer in a post-COVID world, where many schools use digital classrooms and curricula that are interwoven with tech (such as needing to scan a QR code to learn more about a reading, or to upload a photo of a completed assignment for credit).
• Safety: In our Youth Listening Tour, which surveyed high school students across the country, we asked teens to rank why having access to phones during school was important. An overwhelming response—average rating 8 out of 10— was that it made them feel safe. Oof.?
• Family Responsibilities: Many teens, especially when factoring in socioeconomic and cultural influences, carry heavy responsibilities—from acting as translators for their parents to navigating after-school care or transportation for their siblings.

According to Pew Research Center: “Most Americans back cellphone bans during class, but fewer support all-day restrictions,” demonstrating the tension between distraction and necessity.

This leaves young people in a bind, struggling to determine which of the clashing voices they should listen to. Should they listen to their teachers who want phones out of sight? Or their parents who want to text with them all day? Or should they attempt to listen to shifting, often contradictory advice about phone use??

Existing school policies rarely seem to address this tension. 88% of youth surveyed attended schools with phone policies—but the average effectiveness of these policies was a 5.7 out of 10, suggesting that these policies are largely ineffective or inconsistently enforced. Of those teens that were brought into their school's policy discussions (only 4 from the whole sample), the perceived effectiveness of these policies were rated higher. ?In other words: young people crave agency, and their willingness to comply with their school’s policies appears to be tied to whether they view the policy as fair or appropriate to their needs. It’s clear that one of the major voices missing is that of young people, themselves.?

Asking pre-teens and teens to rewire their relationship with their phones is a significant behavioral shift—especially since, for many, their attachment to devices began as a genuine lifeline during COVID. Technology is and will continue to be, an integral part of young people’s lives. We need solutions that help disentangle teens from their devices during school, fostering learning and connection, while still recognizing and empathizing with their unique challenges.

We are thrilled to announce the Call Me Maybe Challenge—a rapid response funding initiative to support solutions that empower pre-teens, teens, families, and educators to navigate the complexity of phone use in schools.

With seed funding from Pinterest and supported by Pivotal Ventures and Susan Crown Exchange , we are committing $500,000 to support up to 10 schools or nonprofits serving schools. Call Me Maybe is a rapid response challenge because we have reached a pivotal moment of urgent need. Right now, schools across the country are determining how to manage phone use, and we have a rare window of opportunity to ensure that youth voices, real-world experiences, and best practices inform those decisions.

At Young Futures, we've observed that school phone policies exist on a spectrum, generally falling into four key archetypes:

1. Full Ban – Phones are strictly prohibited on campus.
2. Discouragement – Phones are technically not allowed, but enforcement is minimal.
3. No Policy – There are no formal rules governing phone use.
4. Full Integration – Phones are intentionally incorporated into teaching and learning.

One of the biggest things we’ve learned? Regardless of where a given school falls along this spectrum, effectiveness of any policy hinges on two key factors: community buy-in (inclusive of all stakeholders, from teens to their families and educators) and resources (financial and human).

Given this, we are interested in funding solutions that:

• Address key challenges related to gaining community buy-in or resources for policy enforcement
• Are co-designed with or led by young people to ensure their needs are prioritized.
• Address the challenges phones pose as a learning distraction and/or a disruptor of social connection
• Consider the developmental needs of students across grade levels.

What exactly might that look like, you ask? We have a lot of ideas—and can’t wait to hear yours, too:

• Education + Community Engagement: behavioral interventions & awareness campaigns; community collaboration & parent involvement programs; student-driven advocacy & policy co-design
• School-Based Solutions (Tech & Digital Literacy Programs): policy implementation support; engaging alternatives to phone use; integrating phones for learning; physical and tech solutions paired with digital literacy and behavior change programs
• Monitoring + Evaluation: real-time feedback systems; impact measurement and research; nonprofit consultant/third party support to design a policy/program starting with identifying needs
• Communications + Storytelling: policy rollout & stakeholder engagement; case studies and best practices

The application period for Call Me Maybe will open up on Wednesday, March 19, so watch this space. In the meantime, you can read the full RFP including eligibility criteria here and sign up for our applicant info session on March 31 here.