Starting this fall, New Jersey’s “bell-to-bell” law goes into effect, prohibiting cell phone use throughout the day at public schools. It’s a policy designed to reclaim student focus and mental health, and it’s rooted in Rutgers research.

In 2025, a faculty and student team led by Jeffrey Lane, an associate professor with Rutgers-New Brunswick School of Communication and Information, partnered with Rutgers-Eagleton/SSRS Garden State Panel to conduct an online survey of 923 parents and 202 teens across the state on how social media shapes adolescent life. Their findings provided a roadmap for state lawmakers.

“This success could not have been possible without the help of the research team at Rutgers University’s School of Communication and Information,” said Senator Paul Moriarty, a prime sponsor of the law. “Their comprehensive research into this issue, which included direct surveys of parents and adolescents, helped provide essential data that shaped the recommendations of the Commission and in turn this groundbreaking legislation that strives to help students across the state.”