School ban on phones has helped friendship building, study finds

Banning mobile phones in schools has helped kids to form better friendships in the playground, but has also shown many young people rely on devices to help them cope emotionally.

These are the findings of one of the first studies in the country of young people’s own views on the ban of mobile phones and other personal devices from schools – a move that started in South Australia before being adopted by other states and territories.

Flinders University and University of Adelaide researchers surveyed more than 1500 students aged 12 to 18 at five SA public schools, where phones and other personal devices were banned in public school classrooms from mid-2023.

Almost all surveyed students owned a phone and almost half said they had used it at school.

The researchers heard that the distracting presence of phones in the schoolyard had formed an invisible barrier that got in the way of kids forming deeper friendships with one another.

“As one (student) reflected, it had been difficult to find a best friend before the phone ban because they had not been able to get to know another person well enough,” the researchers reported.

Others had been “teased or laughed at for not owning an expensive or new phone” but kids reported that these behaviours eased following the ban.

Students listed other benefits of the phone ban, including fewer distractions in class, less “drama” or gossiping and improved ability to “(notice) their surroundings”.

One boy, 12, talked about “being able to appreciate the sunshine” without being distracted by a screen.

Before the ban, some students were so addicted to screens that they would “even use their phone when walking down the stairs”, one 13-year-old girl said.

A 12-year-old girl thought students were better able to concentrate “rather than worrying about how (many) likes their TikTok post got”.

However, the researchers also found that many students felt like they didn’t know how to manage “distressing” emotions, stress, anxiety, loneliness or boredom without their phones.

“I have developed a bunch of strategies to cope with my anxiety using my phone. Now I can’t use my phone,” said one 18-year-old girl.

Another girl the same age said access to the internet and apps provided “a place for my mind to escape when everything feels like it is getting too much and too stressful, a way to calm down”.

One 14-year-old girl said she missed being able to “listen to music in class to help concentrate and block out the bad thoughts”.

The researchers said the findings show how important it is to make sure students are equipped with other healthy strategies to socialise, manage difficult feelings and cope with mental health issues that don’t always involve using their phones.

Students said other downsides to the ban included being unable to take photos of whiteboard notes in class, pay at the canteen with digital debit cards* or communicate quickly with parents or employers.

One girl, 14, said feminine hygiene calls to mum were embarrassing when overheard at the school office.

“Having to go through student services feels weirdly invasive and many students are uncomfortable doing it,” said another girl, 15.

Since Term 3, 2023, all students at SA government schools have been required to turn off their devices and keep them “out of sight” during school hours, often in lockable pouches.

The ban applies to mobile phones and personal devices including smart watches, iPads, tablets and laptops. Teachers are able to grant some exemptions*.

At Adelaide Catholic school Loreto College, phones have been banned since 2022 and this year its Year 7 students joined the junior school in handing their devices to staff in the morning.

Year 8 students started handing their phones in to teachers from term 2 this year.

Loreto’s pupils embraced the ban and Year 12 student Phoebe, 17, said it “gave girls time away from their phones”.

The school’s wellbeing program encourages students to set time limits for phone usage outside of the classroom.

Year 11 student Ava, 16, said: “You’re not here to be on your phone”.

While in the boarding house at the college, Year 10 student Ruby said she could get more connection with her friends without the use of a phone.

“Schools are the only place you can go and be mobile phone free,” the 15-year-old said.

Loreto College principal Kylie McCullah said their students, “embrace our mobile-phone-free approach during the school day, recognising the benefits it brings to their wellbeing”.

“It allows them to really focus on their learning, focus on developing and forming and socialising at lunch and recess … rather than the pressures on that fear of missing out of what’s happening on social media,” she said.

“It allows their brain to have a break.”

But she said it was also important to teach students “a sense of responsibility” to manage their own phone usage.

“It’s about working with the young person and explaining to them why this rule is in place,” Ms McCullah said.

POLL

GLOSSARY

• over reliant: depending on something too much, to the point where it isn’t healthy or it doesn’t serve you in the best way
• digital debit cards: a method of paying with your banking app, that allows you to use a digital version of your debit card which is securely stored on the app
• exemptions: when something is allowed for certain people or certain reasons even though it is normally against the rules

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QUICK QUIZ
1. How had phones in the playground prevented deeper friendships from forming?
2. What are two ways that kids have been using phones to deal with difficult emotions or thoughts?
3. What have been two benefits of not having phones at school?
4. Which state was the first to introduce a ban on phones in all public schools?
5. Why is it important for kids to learn other coping mechanisms than just using their phones?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Phones out!
Summarise the positives and negatives listed in the Kids News article that teens have identified since mobile phone bans have been introduced into their schools.

POSITIVES:

NEGATIVES:

In a different colour pen, add one or two items to each list about other things you think might happen if phones were banned at your school.

Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Digital Technologies, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension
Suggest some other strategies for the teens who don’t know how to manage some distressing emotions such as stress, anxiety, loneliness or boredom, without their phone.

What could they do instead when they are experiencing these emotions;

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Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

VCOP ACTIVITY
To sum it up
After reading the article, use your comprehension skills to summarise in a maximum of three sentences what the article is about.

Think about:

• What is the main topic or idea?
• What is an important or interesting fact?
• Who was involved (people or places)?

Use your VCOP skills to re-read your summary to make sure it is clear, specific and well punctuated.