Reads like you’re extrapolating your own experiences, if I do the same you get the opposite answer, my school in the early 2000s had computer rooms you were free to use for coding or other projects at lunchtime. It’s not either/or. A school can provide smart devices for use on school premises locked down with appropriate apps. Your parents were coming from a position of ignorance whereas now parents have first hand experience of the negative effects of smart phone use.