Reasons why more and more countries ban cell phones in school classrooms

More and more European countries are joining the wave of the ‘digital detox’ in the classrooms with the prohibition of the use of mobile phones.

The Netherlands is the last European country to join this regulation. The measure will enter into force in January 2024, and also affects tablets and smart watches. Although its application at the moment is only for high school studentsis likely to be extended to primary education.

Most experts agree that its use is negative. Researchers from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) have combined in a study the results obtained by British students from four cities in United Kingdom (Birmingham, London, Leicester and Manchester) in their exams by banning mobile phones in their classrooms. The follow-up was carried out from 2001 to 2013 in the secondary stage, from 11 to 16 years of age.

The results in students with already good performance did not change much, but the opposite is true for low-performing students: the decision not to allow the telephone in class improved their results 6.4% compared to the standard deviation in final year students.