“Camouflaged Connections: How Chinese Students Conceal Phones Amidst Growing Restrictions”

From bottles and dictionaries to journals and mirrors, ordinary school supplies in China are now functioning as secret phone compartments, assisting students in navigating stringent classroom prohibitions and driving a thriving market for “cheating gadgets.”

On online shopping platforms, one of the most popular gadgets is a water bottle featuring a concealed compartment, enabling students to sip from the top while hiding their phone at the bottom.

The opaque construction renders it nearly undetectable. Other disguises consist of notebooks with hollow pages, mirror cases, and power banks with hidden slots. These items are particularly favored by elementary and middle school students seeking to keep their phones in class despite institutional bans.

The surge in popularity is a consequence of China’s increasing regulations on student smartphone usage. In 2021, the Ministry of Education prohibited students from bringing devices to school without obtaining parental approval and submitting a formal application. Even then, devices must be surrendered to instructors upon arrival and are strictly banned in classrooms.

This decision follows rising concerns about smartphone dependency among students. By 2023, China recorded 196 million internet users under the age of 18, with a 97.3% penetration rate. Educational institutions argue that excessive screen time detracts from concentration, academic achievement, and mental well-being, leading to more rigorous enforcement of phone restrictions.

As a growing number of students resort to concealed gadgets to circumvent these regulations, opposition to them is intensifying, with listings on Chinese e-commerce sites brazenly marketing these devices as undetectable.

According to China Youth Daily, one vendor describes a mirror hideaway as “safe and trustworthy, evades metal detectors, and ships discreetly,” while a power bank storage case is promoted as “more subtle, requires no screws, functions as a flashlight, and even charges your phone.”

In a commentary, the state-affiliated Guangming Daily condemned the manufacturing and sale of such items, claiming that they encourage rule-breaking and undermine schools’ initiatives to advocate responsible smartphone usage.

Nonetheless, the market for these gadgets is flourishing. A Sixth Tone search for “smartphone hiding gadget” on e-commerce platform Taobao reveals hundreds of listings, with some products selling over 1,000 units per month.

For numerous students, sneaking phones into school seems more like a necessity than a transgression. A junior at a boarding school in Shanghai admitted to taking his smartphone to school multiple times. He regards it as a means to relax with short videos and mobile games while also accessing online educational materials.

Liu Chenxu, an educator at a boarding school in northern China’s Hebei province, has a different view. “Teenagers lack self-discipline and require guidance from schools and educators. Permitting phones in school not only disrupts concentration in lessons but also causes some boarding students to stay up all night playing on their devices,” she told Sixth Tone.

“We were students once, and we completely understand the allure of smartphones,” Liu remarked. “However, over time, this could lead to a detrimental cycle.”

She cautioned that without appropriate regulations, excessive phone usage might disturb classroom order. “While prohibiting phones may inconvenience students to some degree, the intention behind the policy is positive,” she explained. “Furthermore, the internet is overflowing with mixed information, and adolescents often lack the ability to discern what is suitable, which can adversely affect their value development.”

Liu also criticized merchants profiting from the need for concealed phone gadgets. “I believe this behavior undermines the public interest. It also instructs students to deceive their teachers and schools,” she stated.

“My concern is whether honest children might be misled by these products and the businesses promoting them. If students truly need to use phones, they should communicate with their teachers instead of resorting to deceptive methods.”

Editor: Apurva.

(Header image: VCG)