Ridding schools of smartphones sounds like the obvious solution to children’s issues with the internet. A hard no to having them in lessons or the playground, with pouches for pupils to lock phones away as part of a statutory governmental bell-to-bell ban. But what exactly are the problems we are trying to fix here? As far as I can see from all the research, books, and science, a statutory school phone ban isn’t the answer to a happier, healthier digital childhood. It’s much bigger than that.
What worries me most as we navigate a wave of techno panic around childhood is that there seems to be no grey area in this urgent, fear-filled smartphone discussion, no time for a nuanced debate – or definitive research – into the conflicting and complicated science of our children’s fast-evolving digital experience.
If a school ban is aimed at stopping children from seeing toxic content online, then experts on the mental health front line in the UK and the US tell me it most likely won’t achieve that. Many children will still see (or be shown) some awful online content; this, I am afraid, is a fact of life now. Helping them learn how they process that is a crucial part of pre-phone-use parenting; I think it should be a bigger part of the school curriculum, too.
Will a ban stop cyberbullying? Again, experts tell me a school ban may reduce frequency, but it won’t prevent it. How to deal with it earlier is perhaps what we should focus on. More difficult conversations need to be had.
Will a statutory ban lead to better grades? The most recent UK survey on this says no. Will it improve mental health? Again, research this year says no.
Schools already have phone use, safeguarding and good behaviour guidelines they can implement in ways that support their specific learning community. Many report that a full ban has been hugely beneficial, but this has not been the case for all.
I agree children should not have phones for personal use in educational settings, but I also worry an enforced ban may then lead to loving parents devolving the responsibility of their child’s digital journey to educators and stepping back, out of fear of the unknown, themselves.
I also think we can teach our children how to use their phones well at school; we need to have those specific conversations. After years of working with, bringing up, and studying adolescents, I believe it is parents and caregivers who are best placed to support children and teens safely with healthy smartphone use by learning to set good boundaries that evolve as they grow up. We may also help by really listening to them when they tell us about their online world instead of dismissing their digital lives with a negative narrative, using words like “addictive” and demonising them for excessive screen time. Teaching children to be responsible also starts with us being responsible with our own phone use.
Psychologist Professor Peter Etchells, author of Unlocked: The Real Science of Screentime, also tells me that a ban may seem obvious, but could have unintended consequences. He cites the learnings of a ban in Florida schools, which led to 30 children in a year of primary school age being suspended for violating the rules. I know from my work with schools that some children have second phones they hide at school. A statutory ban needs consequences, so what will your school decide they are, and how will that affect your child’s education? Can your school afford the phone lock pouches, or would the money be better spent on upgraded sporting facilities? Sport has been shown to improve the mental health of pupils.
Banning anything creates a culture of secrecy and shame, which may mean your child won’t tell you if they do see or experience something terrible on their phones, and then they have to process this alone.
Dr Martha Dieros Collado, author of The Smartphone Solution and a clinical psychologist with 20 years of experience in family therapy, says that digital citizenship must be embedded in all learning, at home and school, from a young age. She cites the example of a 13-year-old girl she worked with who was receiving more than 300 WhatsApp messages each morning and feeling intense pressure to read each one. She needed to be shown how to navigate that – a skill that is useful for all children.
We need to instil critical thinking in our kids and get more tech-savvy ourselves as smartphone users. You cannot protect your children through avoidance, and I think a ban feels like punishing some children for things they haven’t done yet.
No one is fine with personal smartphone use in schools, none of us are happy about our children’s seemingly unlimited access to the internet, and we all want tech companies to put the safety brakes on before smartphones come to market. There is no quick fix for the serious problems we’re facing; no definitive data to rely on, so the best we can do is help our children learn the appropriate skills to navigate this world by engaging in it ourselves.
Lorraine Candy’s books include ‘“Mum, What’s Wrong with You?” 101 Things Only Mothers of Teenage Girls Know’
Will Reform UK really end ‘free taxis’ for special needs pupils?
Trust me, splitting up refugee families is not the answer to the migrant crisis
I’m a secondary school teacher: We need more Send provision, not less
Failings in mental health care demand quicker and more decisive action
Reeves is panicking – and delaying the Budget is a big gamble with the economy
Cracking down on transphobic hate speech doesn’t make the UK a police state
