On Tuesday, January 14th, 2025, Governor Phil Murphy gave his final State of the State address before finally leaving office in 2026. In his address, he discussed various topics, including Zoning laws/affordable housing, public safety, abortion, taxes, the state budget, and education. Governor Murphy would talk about cell phone usage and clutch his pearls saying "They are fueling a rise in cyberbullying, and they are making it incredibly difficult for our kids not only to learn but to retain the substance of what they learn, Honestly, is it any surprise that the rise in smartphone usage has coincided with a growing youth mental health crisis?" No Governor Murphy, it is no surprise that there is cyberbullying and a youth mental health crisis. Blaming those things on just cell phones makes little to no sense.
Cyberbullying has been around since kids have had access to the internet. This is not exclusive to just cell phones or a new or recent fad. Also cyberbullying appears to be happening outside of the school building mainly. According to StopBullying.Gov, "Among students ages 12-18 in grades 6-12 who reported being bullied at school during the school year, 21.6% were bullied online or by text." So cyberbullying does happen in school, but the rest of the 78.4% seem to be outside of the school building.
Now as for the youth mental health crisis, it is the same answer. IT IS NOT JUST THE CELL PHONES!!!! Many factors have played a role in this. Some of those factors are COVID, verbal and physical abuse from a parent or guardian, bullying, racism, school, puberty, and being part of the LGBTQIA+ community. According to the American Psychological Association. Governor Murphy does not seem to understand that there are other contributing factors to the youth mental health crisis. Governor Murphy seems to be wanting to ban cell phones for a reason. That exact reason is not what he is insisting.
Governor Murphy wants to ban cell phones in schools because students investigate and expose what is going on. So what is going on in their school is told to their parents with evidence! When parents found out that schools in Marlboro Township were hiding that their kids wanted to be transgender, Governor Murphy sued Marlboro and suggested that it was none of their business. This is why Governor Murphy does not want children to have their cell phones. He sees them not only as a threat to political power but to his reputation and his Goldman Sachs money.
It is so appalling that we have a Governor who would even do this. It is disgusting, and he needs to resign.
This is Dennis, signing out.
"¡Viva la libertad, carajo!" - Javier Milei