Mobile phone bans in schools not linked to grades or behavior of kids, says study

Banning smartphones in schools has no real impact on improving grades and behaviours among students, a new study has found.

The study by the University of Birmingham and peer-reviewed by the Lancet’s Journal for European Health Policy says that factors like sleep schedule, classroom behaviours, exercise and screen time spent on smartphones seem to be no different than schools that have banned mobile phones than those that have not.

The study’s lead author, Dr Victoria Goodyear, told BBC, that the findings were not “against the ban of smartphones in schools but “what we’re suggesting is that those bans in isolation are not enough to tackle the negative impacts”.

She added, “We need to do more than just ban phones in schools.”

The study examined 1,227 students and the smartphone usage rules at break and lunchtime across 30 different secondary schools.

It found a connection between increased phone and social media use and negative outcomes, including poorer mental well-being and mental health, reduced physical activity, disrupted sleep, lower grades, and more disruptive behaviour in the classroom.

According to estimates by online safety regulator Ofcom, 96 per cent of teens between the ages of 12-15 in the UK own a smartphone.

Last year, England’s Department for Education stated that most schools were already enforcing smartphone restrictions, as it issued non-binding guidance encouraging head teachers to do the same.

According to BBC a government official, commenting on the latest research, said, “More robust evidence is needed to reach clear conclusions on the impact of smartphones on children, which is why we have launched our own research, led by the University of Cambridge, into the impact of social media on children’s overall wellbeing.”