What happens when a 15-year-old asks better questions than the digital literacy expert has answers for?

Schnelle was interviewing with a teen council in Brooklyn—they were evaluating whether her workshops were right for their program. She was ready to impress them with her credentials, her insider knowledge, her 14 years in digital marketing.

Then one young man asked: "Do you agree with the phone ban?"

Simple question, right? Except it wasn't simple at all.

Schnelle's mama heart screamed YES—ban the phones, protect the kids from algorithms and comparison and distraction.

But her educator mind hesitated: Are we teaching kids to manage technology, or just removing it and hoping for the best?

She gave him an answer: Yes, she agreed with the ban.

And then he hit her with the follow-up that made her question everything.

"What if the good kids—the ones with amazing grades—got to have their phones, and the ones with terrible grades didn't?"

In this episode, Schnelle unpacks why that question is so brilliant and so challenging. Because it exposes something we don't talk about enough: Are phone bans about protecting all kids, or about controlling the kids we don't trust?

Then came question three: "Don't phones promote socialization through gaming and connecting?"

And Schnelle gave the "right" answer (plenty of ways to socialize offline), but she could tell he wasn't buying it. Because he was seeing the limitation in her logic: We're telling kids that connection increasingly happens online while simultaneously restricting their access during huge parts of their day.

This episode explores:

• The mama vs. educator tension in technology decisions
• Why "fair across the board" might not actually be fair
• Whether we're solving the right problem with phone bans
• How kids perceive our contradictions around technology
• What happens when the expert admits she doesn't have all the answers

This isn't a "here's what you should do about phones" episode. This is a "let's sit with the complexity and admit this is really hard" episode.

And sometimes, that's the most valuable education of all.

For parents: If you've struggled with phone rules and felt like there's no good answer—you're not alone. This episode validates that struggle.

For educators: If you're creating or enforcing phone policies while feeling uncertain about them—this episode gives you permission to question.

For teens: If you've felt like adults don't really understand your relationship with technology—this episode proves you're right.

Bring nuanced digital literacy conversations to your community:

Schnelle's workshops create space for real dialogue about technology—not just rules and restrictions, but understanding why these tools are so compelling and how to navigate them thoughtfully.

📧 Contact: contactus@bamdigitalmedia.info
🌐 Learn more: https://bamdigitalmedia.info
Virtual and in-person programs for schools, libraries, and organizations nationwide.