From the Department of Banning Those Cell Phones Sure Did Wonders for No One comes a story out of South Carolina about… disposable cameras…
When South Carolina rolled out its statewide school cellphone ban this year, most stories focused on parents’ frustrations and kids’ grumbling. But at Woodland High School, one student decided to get creative.
Inspired by flipping through her mom’s old high school photo albums, Alianna Alston showed up with a disposable camera instead of a phone. The idea caught on fast—soon classmates were snapping candid moments without worrying about likes, filters, or notifications. “It was just straight happy vibes,” Alianna told Live 5 WCSC.
What started as a workaround to the ban has become something bigger: a way for students and teachers to connect, to capture real, unpolished moments, and to rediscover a technology that defined the ’90s and early 2000s. The humble disposable camera, once a vacation staple, is suddenly a symbol of presence in the age of digital distraction.
Of course, the irony here is delicious. Lawmakers ban cellphones to keep kids “focused,” and within weeks, teenagers are turning Kodak throwaways into a cultural moment. It’s almost like blanket bans don’t actually stop creativity, connection, or rebellion—they just reroute it. Students will always find ways to hack the system, bend the rules, and make something cool out of the scraps adults leave behind. Maybe that’s the real lesson: you can ban the phones, but you can’t ban the vibe.
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