School phone bans don't boost grades or wellbeing, study suggests

A recent study indicates that there is no direct correlation between prohibiting students from using mobile phones in schools and improved academic performance or mental well-being. This research marks the first attempt of its kind to explore the actual effects of school mobile phone bans.

Researchers discovered no significant differences in sleep quality, classroom behavior, exercise levels, or overall mobile phone usage duration between schools that implemented mobile phone bans and those that did not. However, the study also pointed out that longer periods of smartphone and social media use are associated with negative outcomes across these indicators.

The University of Birmingham study compared 1,227 students and the smartphone usage regulations during breaks and lunchtimes in their 30 secondary schools. The results indicated that schools restricting smartphone use did not appear to achieve the anticipated improvements in student health, well-being, and classroom focus. The study did find, however, that the longer the time spent using mobile phones and social media, the poorer the mental health, the less physical activity, the worse the sleep quality, the lower the grades, and the more disruptive the classroom behavior.

Dr. Victoria Goodyear, the lead author of the study, stated that the findings are not "against" smartphone bans in schools but suggest that "implementing these bans alone is not enough to address the negative impacts." She believes that the current "focus" needs to be on reducing the amount of time students spend on their phones, adding, "We need to do more than just ban phones in schools."

Principals and students from some schools also shared their views on mobile phone bans. Twyford School in West London strictly enforces a mobile phone ban, with students caught carrying smartphones in lower grades having their phones confiscated until the end of the term. School officials stated that this punishment is "unpopular" and therefore has a strong deterrent effect. Colin Crehan, headmaster of Small Heath St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School in Birmingham, believes that schools have a "moral responsibility" to help students learn to use mobile phones in a "safe and controlled space." Ysgol Aberconwy in Conwy, Wales, recently changed its regulations, with students' phones locked in magnetic pouches unless unlocked by teachers in class. These cases illustrate the diverse management approaches to mobile phone use adopted by different schools and the varying effects they produce.