Could The School Phone Ban Work?

Wednesday, 1 May 2024, 9:14 am
Press Release: The Conversation

The cellphone ban in schools came into effect this week, and so far there don’t appear to have been audible howls of anguish from the nation’s playgrounds. That’s not to say every student will be thrilled, just that some might even welcome an enforced digital circuit breaker.

My personal and highly scientific survey of two – one currently in year 13, the other a Gen Z not long out of high school – provides conflicting data: the first reports the ban hasn’t been a huge burden, the second reckons it would have been insufferable had it been in force earlier.

The jury’s out, in other words. And, as Patrick Usmar argues here, perhaps we shouldn’t rush to judgement about whether banning personal phone use at school will help in the long run. While the evidence that such policies will improve student achievement is weak, it’s also possible that one less distraction in the school day might not be a terrible thing.

“No phone ban advocate is arguing that limiting phone use in schools is a silver bullet,” Usmar writes. “But the personal device’s capacity to distract remains a legitimate concern.” Central to this, he explains, is the phone’s distracting effect on curiosity and critical thinking.

“The future job market, filled with roles that do not yet exist, will undoubtedly require those skills. Therefore, distinguishing between meaningful digital engagement and detrimental distraction is crucial.”

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