ACCREDITED research has documented the many disadvantages of unrestricted student cell phone use in schools for students.
We know that excessive smartphone use increases anxiety, depression and a myriad of other mental health issues.
In addition to those concerns, cell phone use can distract students and hinder their academic focus and progress.
The good news is that we have the power to intervene; and by doing so, can help mitigate these problems.
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the Phone-Free Schools Act into law, requiring the state’s 1,000 school districts, including charter schools, to develop specific student cell phone policies by July 1, 2026.
The law allows local districts to define whether cell phones are banned from the classrooms altogether. However, the law requires that cell phone use must support pupil learning and well-being.
Newsom said: “This new law will help students focus on academics and social development, and relate to people (and the world) around them, not at screens during their school day.”
The Unified School District went a step further by approving a policy for an outright phone ban during the school day, to take effect from Jan 1, 2025.
Similar kinds of laws are being enacted in various other states, including Florida, Virginia, Ohio and New York.
There are various ways to accomplish these restrictions, including storing them in a locked area until the end of the school day.
There is also technology available that renders cell phones unusable for phoning, texting or internet access, even if the phone remains in a student’s possession.
Reaction to this kind of ban has been generally positive from parents and most students. It will be relevant to monitor the effects of these restrictions and to evaluate their impact and possible unintended consequences.
Elsewhere in the world, calls for a ban on cell phones are increasing in Germany. In Spain, cell phones are already banned in nine regions, with two more set to join the crackdown.
Russian and Swedish schools have banned mobile phones in classrooms, starting Sept 1. Phones must be stored in designated areas for the school day, except for emergencies.
Bans are already in place in France, Italy, the UK and the Netherlands. In China, students are banned from using handphones in schools.
Beginning this year, Canada has mandated that students must store their phones in a central location during the school day.
In the US, most schools have a restrictive policy, with some 76% of schools prohibiting non-academic use of cell phones. Their shared research shows that banning smartphones from classrooms helped tackle classroom disruption, supported higher quality learning and protected students from distraction and cyberbullying.
Unesco, in its “Put Learners First” programme has called for a global ban on cell phones in classrooms. As the United Nations’ education, science and cultural agency, Unesco based its recommendation on its analysis of 200 education systems around the world.
According to Unesco’s director-general, Audrey Azoulay, the call for the ban sends a clear message that digital technology, including artificial intelligence, should always be subservient to a “human-centred vision” of education; that it should never supplant face-to-face interaction with teachers and other students.
Azoulay said: “The digital revolution holds immeasurable potential, but just as warnings have been voiced on how it should be regulated in society, similar attention must be paid to what is allowed in education.”
The primary goal of such regulation is to protect students’ well-being and provide them a focused, distraction-free learning environment during the school day, that allows them to reach their fullest academic potential.
While students need to be technologically proficient, the main goals of education are to produce innovative critical thinkers; graduates with sound leadership and interpersonal skills; and team members with successful problem-solving abilities. These goals can best be met within a focused classroom setting, free from the many distractions of cell phone use.
On the downside, cell phone addiction has negative impacts
on students’ academic learning performance. Their skills and cognitive abilities are impacted by excessive use of these devices, and the results imply addicted users show a diminished level in learning.
C. Sathasivam Sitheravellu
Seremban
