Rabbi David Milston of the Midreshet Harova learning institute for girls does not allow smartphones into his classes but says the problem with smartphones cannot be solved by banning them altogether.

Speaking with Arutz Sheva at the annual Binyan Shalem conference on family and childraising-related issues, the rabbi admitted that he, himself, uses a smartphone, and that the phones are part of the current culture in which people seek immediate results.

"This goes back to Esav [Esau] and Yaakov [Jacob],” he explained. “Esav wants everything immediately and Yaakov is long term.”

"The smartphone is just a twig on the branch of a tree of a major issue... If you settle on the smartphone per se, you can get distracted. It's very hard, as well, just to convince someone not to use a smartphone.”

He suggested that smartphones be used for email and to look up things, and not to watch movies. In general, however, the way to approach the issue is to discuss “long-term aims and objectives” versus “short term enjoyment.”