This was always a curiosity to me, too. Same in my schools, no gameboys, graphing calc use monitored and restricted to specific classes, whether cheating or distraction things weren't allowed - smart phones are all those things and more.
It didn't feel oppressive, either, it felt appropriate - like setting a tone, even when we were defying the rules lol
It was just annoying to me. They take away trading cards and game boys and at the same time this was when they were removing monkey bars and tether ball courts due to lawsuits.
What do you want students to do during recess? There's only 1 full basketball court and 2 single courts. We only had access to half the grass field for whatever reason so that limited soccer (and yeah, no full contact so Murica Football was soft banned. You could throw the pig skin and that's it).
If that's a shared experience, it's no wonder my generation is so scrutinous of authority.
It didn't feel oppressive, either, it felt appropriate - like setting a tone, even when we were defying the rules lol