ACCREDITED research has documented the numerous disadvantages of unrestricted cell phone use by students in schools for students.
We know that excessive smartphone use increases anxiety, depression, and a host of other mental health problems.
In addition to these concerns, cell phone use can distract students and hinder their concentration and academic progress.
The good news is that we have the power to intervene; and by doing so, it 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 policies for student cell phones by July 1, 2026.
The law allows local districts to determine whether cellphones should be banned from classrooms altogether. However, the law requires that mobile phone use must support pupils’ learning and wellbeing.
Newsom said, “This new law will help students focus on academics and social development and connect with the people (and the world) around them, not in front of screens during the school day.”
The Unified School District has taken this a step further by approving a policy of a total ban on telephone calls during the school day, effective January 1, 2025.
Similar laws are being enacted in several other states, including Florida, Virginia, Ohio and New York.
There are various ways to comply with these restrictions, including storing them in a locked area until the end of the school day.
There is also technology available that makes cell phones unusable for making calls, texting, or accessing the Internet, even if the phone remains in the student’s possession.
The reaction to this type of ban has been generally positive from parents and most students. It will be important to monitor the effects of these restrictions and evaluate their impact and possible unintended consequences.
Elsewhere in the world, calls for a cell phone ban are growing in Germany. In Spain, mobile phones are already banned in nine regions, and two more will join the crackdown.
Russian and Swedish schools have banned mobile phones in classrooms starting September 1. Phones must be stored in designated areas during the school day, except in emergencies.
Bans are already in place in France, Italy, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. In China, students are banned from using cell phones in schools.
Starting this year, Canada required students to keep their phones in a central location during the school day.
In the United States, most schools have a restrictive policy, with approximately 76% of schools banning non-academic use of cell phones. Their shared research shows that banning smartphones in classrooms helped combat classroom disruption, supported higher-quality learning, and protected students from distractions and cyberbullying.
UNESCO, in its “Put Learners First” program called for a global ban on mobile phones in classrooms. As the United Nations agency for education, science and culture, UNESCO based its recommendation on the analysis of 200 education systems around the world.
According to UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, the call for a ban sends a clear message that digital technology, including artificial intelligence, should always be subservient to a “human-centered vision” of education; that 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 expressed about how it should be regulated in society, similar attention must be paid to what is allowed in education.”
The primary goal of this regulation is to protect the well-being of students and provide them with a focused, distraction-free learning environment during the school day that allows them to reach their maximum academic potential.
While students must be technologically proficient, the primary goals of education are to produce innovative critical thinkers; graduates with strong leadership and interpersonal skills; and team members with successful problem-solving skills. These goals can best be achieved within a focused classroom environment, free from the many distractions resulting from cell phone use.
The downside is that cell phone addiction has negative effects
on students’ academic performance. Their skills and cognitive abilities are affected by excessive use of these devices and the findings imply that addicted users show a reduced level of learning.
C. Sathasivam Sitheravallu
Seremban
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