New York City students are one week into the statewide phone ban. Gothamist reporters checked in with teens across the district to see how they are adapting. Here's how they are handling their disconnected days. Lower-tech life Polaroids, walkie-talkies and decks of cards: New York City teens said these are some of the hot items circulating in schools now that the statewide smartphone ban is in effect. Alia Soliman, a senior at Bronx Science, said cards “are making a big comeback.” She said kids are playing poker when they’re done with their work in some classes. Fellow students reported a surge in Uno. “It seems to be very fun and engaging,” Soliman said. She said members of the senior class are using vintage devices to capture memories and milestones. “I’ve seen some of my friends bring in digicams,” Soliman said. “A lot of people are bringing in Polaroids.” She’s looking into whether an MP3 player would be allowed in school to listen to while she studies. “I’ll test the waters,” she said. In Manhattan, Ethan Myer, a senior at Union Square Academy, said the ban is also helping kids get their steps in. “Most people are just walking around the hall, because there's not really much else to do,” Myer said. "Some people are talking a bit more, which I guess was the goal.” Jem Bryant, a junior at Gramercy Arts High School, also near Union Square, is daydreaming more. “I don't really have a lot of friends in classes,” Bryant said. “So when they say ‘do your classwork’ and I'm already done, I literally just have to sit there and stare at the wall.” Soliman said she was opposed to the ban at first, and she’s concerned that she won’t be able to work on her college applications during downtime at school, but she sees some positives. “I’m still not thrilled,” she said. “But people are reading more. The younger kids are socializing more.” Peter Schmidt-Nowara, a teacher and dean at Brooklyn Tech, said the hallways and lunchroom are louder, in a good way. “It was muted,” he said. “It’s really lifted a pall.” He said it’s a stark difference from last year, when kids were retreating to bathrooms for 20 minutes to check their phones, and walking through the halls with their heads down. He added that he's enjoyed watching students turn to unfamiliar technology. “A group of boys brought in a transistor radio to listen to music. They didn’t realize they had to lift the antenna, so I lifted it for them. The music wasn’t that loud and it was quite sweet,” he said. Workarounds No students interviewed by Gothamist copped to having burner phones of their own, but some said they knew of classmates deploying decoys. “Not to rat anyone out, but some people have fake phones,” said Solangel Santana, a senior at Union Square Academy. She added that kids sometimes send each other emails or chat in Google Docs on their education department-issued devices. “We find creative ways to talk to each other,” she said. Video app TikTok is rife with videos of kids breaking into pouches. “They slam it,” said Esmeralda Jaramillo, a junior at Gramercy Arts. Soliman said students sometimes physically leave the building and go out into the courtyard for a phone break to play games or check messages during free periods or lunch. “The benches are always full,” Soliman said. Speaking at DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx on Monday, Mayor Eric Adams said it’s not the first time teenagers have tried to skirt the rules. “This is all part of their creative spirit and energy,” he said. “We did it. Let's not act like when we were in school, we didn't have all our little tricks on how we got around things. Adams made the comments at a press conference to announce the distribution of 350,000 internet-enabled Chromebooks, part of the city’s effort to replace aging devices obtained during the pandemic, and ensure that all students have access to technology in schools even as their personal devices are banned.