Array
It was the worst nightmare for parents and their children. As a gunman roamed the halls of Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, kids took out their cell phones and texted heartbreaking messages to their parents about an active shooter at the school. They said goodbye to their loved ones, thinking they were going to die.
According to a National Parents Union survey conducted in February, the top reason parents want their child to have a cell phone in school is in the case of an emergency either at home or while in class.
But school shootings are incredibly rare, despite what the media would have us believe. And according to many experts, kids with phones may actually be in more danger during an emergency.
Ken Trump, president of National School Safety and Security Services points out the real-world drawbacks of kids with phones in an active shooter situation or any other emergency.
“If you have 20 kids in a classroom and they’re texting, calling parents, livestreaming — they’re not paying full attention to the directions of adults and not being fully situationally aware of things they may need to quickly do to save their lives,” he said. “You have seconds to follow directions and move locations.”
Phones can create other hazards too, he said. Their ringing or buzzing might draw unwanted attention to classrooms where people are trying to hide.
