This editorial shows two middle school students standing in front of a ‘No Cell Phones’ sign at their middle school. One student says that the no phone policy will have a negative impact on her mother, saying, ‘She texts me, like, six times a day.” This editorial cartoon is related to the transactional model of communication (subheading: Defining Communication), which says that communication is an exchange where people send and receive messages at the same time. With this new no cell phones policy in the cartoon, this model of communication is disrupted because both parents and children lose our on the chance to have immediate interaction with each other.

The transactional model of communication shows how important feedback is in communication. In the editorial cartoon, the student’s mother may send texts and expect a quick response, which maintains an open line of communication throughout the day. Taking away phones breaks this cycle, which creates delays in communication and can cause misunderstandings and stress.

I have personally experienced similar problems when I am either away from my phone or it is disabled in some way. Not being able to use the phone to respond to someone checking up on you can cause unneeded stress. I’ve also experienced the opposite, where someone doesn’t respond to a text that I send because their phone is dead or they were doing something else. The editorial cartoon reminds me of our incredible reliance on technology to facilitate communication in this day and age.

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