{"id":76388,"date":"2025-04-01T01:05:37","date_gmt":"2025-04-01T05:05:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=76388"},"modified":"2025-04-01T01:05:37","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T05:05:37","slug":"school-phone-ban-one-year-on-our-student-survey-reveals-mixed-feelings-about-its-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/school-phone-ban-one-year-on-our-student-survey-reveals-mixed-feelings-about-its-success\/","title":{"rendered":"School phone ban one year on: our student survey reveals mixed feelings about its success"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

One year after the government banned cellphones from schools<\/a>\u00a0to help students focus and reduce distractions in class, we\u2019re beginning to see how it has been implemented and how successful it\u2019s been.<\/p>\n

As part of that process,\u00a0our new research<\/a>\u00a0asked young people about the ban. Unsurprisingly, they had a lot to say.<\/p>\n

Schools around the world, including in Australia, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, China and parts of the United States, have implemented similar bans. The guiding principle everywhere has been to help students do better in school.<\/p>\n

When\u00a0New Zealand\u2019s ban came into effect in April 2024<\/a>, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said it was time to cut the distractions so kids could learn and achieve.<\/p>\n

But studies have shown these bans often don\u2019t work as planned. For example,\u00a0recent research from the UK<\/a>\u00a0involving over 1,200 students found no significant difference in academic grades or wellbeing between schools with strict phone bans and those with more relaxed policies.<\/p>\n

With so many questions at the time of the ban about how it would be enforced, we wanted to hear what was going on in schools and what young people really thought. We spoke to 77 young people aged 12 to 18 from 25 schools around the country. Some liked the bans, some didn\u2019t and some weren\u2019t sure.<\/p>\n

Mixed feelings<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Many students had mixed feelings about the bans. Some admitted the bans helped reduce distractions and gave them a break from using their phones. As one explained,<\/p>\n

otherwise, we\u2019ll be on our phone all day, all afternoon, all night, and it won\u2019t be healthy for our minds.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But other students said the ban had created new problems.<\/p>\n

First, some students felt stressed and anxious when they couldn\u2019t contact their parents or caregivers during the day. Second, they said the rules weren\u2019t always clear or fair. Some teachers were strict, others weren\u2019t. And sometimes, teachers used their phones in class, but students couldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

That perceived double standard \u2013 where teachers can use phones but students can\u2019t \u2013 left many of our respondents feeling frustrated and unfairly treated. In some cases, it even made them more secretive about their phone use. One student said,<\/p>\n

Even though we\u2019re not allowed to use our phones, everyone is sneaky and uses it anyway.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A lack of consultation<\/strong><\/h4>\n

A lot of students said they weren\u2019t asked what they thought before the bans were introduced. They felt as if adults made the rules without asking them or listening to them. One of our interviewees said,<\/p>\n

It feels like they just ban everything, thinking it will fix the problem.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Many didn\u2019t understand the purpose of the ban, especially since they still have to use laptops and other technology in class.<\/p>\n

Recent research found more than 80% of students in Aotearoa New Zealand say\u00a0technology in class is distracting \u2013 not just phones<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Already, some students have found clever ways around the phone ban. At one Auckland school, students started using\u00a0walkie-talkies instead of phones to stay connected with their peers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Examples like this show bans don\u2019t always change behaviour the way they\u2019re intended to. It can simply make students feel as though adults underestimate how tech-savvy they really are.<\/p>\n

Young people as active problem solvers<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The young people in our research offered some alternatives to the ban.<\/p>\n

Many suggested allowing phones at break and lunch times. That way, they could stay connected without interrupting class. They also said adults needed to model healthy digital habits, not just set the rules.<\/p>\n

Based on student responses, it does appear that learning and teaching how to use phones in healthy ways would be more helpful than banning them altogether.<\/p>\n

Research from the Digital Wellness Lab<\/a>\u00a0supports this balanced approach, emphasising skill building over restriction. But for this to work, adults need support too. Teachers and parents need training and resources to help guide young people \u2013 and should also be surveyed on how they feel about the ban.<\/p>\n

Banning phones doesn\u2019t fix the bigger issue of helping young people to use technology safely and responsibly. If schools really want to support students, they need to move beyond one-size-fits-all rules.<\/p>\n

Our research shows young people aren\u2019t just passive users of technology. They\u2019re active problem solvers. They want to be part of the conversation \u2013 and part of the solution.<\/p>\n

This would involve replacing top-down bans with meaningful conversations involving young people and adults to build fair and practical digital guidelines, where everyone benefits.<\/p>\n

Author Bios:<\/strong> Cara Swit is Associate Professor, School of Health Sciences, Aaron Hapukuis a Lecturer, School of Health Sciences, Helena Cook is a Lecturer, School of Social and Cultural Studies and Jennifer Smith is a Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Education all at the University of Canterbury<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One year after the government banned cellphones from schools\u00a0to help students focus and reduce distractions in class, we\u2019re beginning to see how it has been implemented and how successful it\u2019s been. As part of that process,\u00a0our new research\u00a0asked young people about the ban. Unsurprisingly, they had a lot to say. Schools around the world, including […]\n… learn more→<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15645],"tags":[435310],"coauthors":[11733],"class_list":["post-76388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education","tag-phone-ban"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSchool phone ban one year on: our student survey reveals mixed feelings about its success - World leading higher education information and services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/school-phone-ban-one-year-on-our-student-survey-reveals-mixed-feelings-about-its-success\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"School phone ban one year on: our student survey reveals mixed feelings about its success - World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"One year after the government banned cellphones from schools\u00a0to help students focus and reduce distractions in class, we\u2019re beginning to see how it has been implemented and how successful it\u2019s been. As part of that process,\u00a0our new research\u00a0asked young people about the ban. Unsurprisingly, they had a lot to say. Schools around the world, including […]\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/school-phone-ban-one-year-on-our-student-survey-reveals-mixed-feelings-about-its-success\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-01T05:05:37+00:00\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/cell-phone-ban-classroom25-3.jpg\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"680\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"408\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kevin\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kevin\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/school-phone-ban-one-year-on-our-student-survey-reveals-mixed-feelings-about-its-success\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/school-phone-ban-one-year-on-our-student-survey-reveals-mixed-feelings-about-its-success\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kevin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee\"},\"headline\":\"School phone ban one year on: our student survey reveals mixed feelings about its success\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-01T05:05:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/school-phone-ban-one-year-on-our-student-survey-reveals-mixed-feelings-about-its-success\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":811,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/school-phone-ban-one-year-on-our-student-survey-reveals-mixed-feelings-about-its-success\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/cell-phone-ban-classroom25-3.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"phone ban\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Education\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/school-phone-ban-one-year-on-our-student-survey-reveals-mixed-feelings-about-its-success\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/school-phone-ban-one-year-on-our-student-survey-reveals-mixed-feelings-about-its-success\\\/\",\"name\":\"School phone ban one year on: our student survey reveals mixed feelings about its success - World leading higher education information and services\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/school-phone-ban-one-year-on-our-student-survey-reveals-mixed-feelings-about-its-success\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/school-phone-ban-one-year-on-our-student-survey-reveals-mixed-feelings-about-its-success\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/cell-phone-ban-classroom25-3.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-01T05:05:37+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/school-phone-ban-one-year-on-our-student-survey-reveals-mixed-feelings-about-its-success\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/school-phone-ban-one-year-on-our-student-survey-reveals-mixed-feelings-about-its-success\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/school-phone-ban-one-year-on-our-student-survey-reveals-mixed-feelings-about-its-success\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/cell-phone-ban-classroom25-3.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/cell-phone-ban-classroom25-3.jpg\",\"width\":680,\"height\":408},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/school-phone-ban-one-year-on-our-student-survey-reveals-mixed-feelings-about-its-success\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"School phone ban one year on: our student survey reveals mixed feelings about its success\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/\",\"name\":\"World leading higher education information and services\",\"description\":\"Global Higher Education Jobs, University jobs, Lecturer & tenure jobs.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee\",\"name\":\"Kevin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g8ba4c352a279c450aa9435d770c1ebf4\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kevin\"},\"description\":\"Kevin is founder of the world.edu project. The past 28 years have been involved in publishing to the education sector in print and the internet. Kevin has a degree in Education and has a many years experience in developing companies and projects.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/author\\\/kevin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"School phone ban one year on: our student survey reveals mixed feelings about its success - World leading higher education information and services","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/world.edu\/school-phone-ban-one-year-on-our-student-survey-reveals-mixed-feelings-about-its-success\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"School phone ban one year on: our student survey reveals mixed feelings about its success - World leading higher education information and services","og_description":"One year after the government banned cellphones from schools\u00a0to help students focus and reduce distractions in class, we\u2019re beginning to see how it has been implemented and how successful it\u2019s been. As part of that process,\u00a0our new research\u00a0asked young people about the ban. Unsurprisingly, they had a lot to say. Schools around the world, including […]","og_url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/school-phone-ban-one-year-on-our-student-survey-reveals-mixed-feelings-about-its-success\/","og_site_name":"World leading higher education information and services","article_published_time":"2025-04-01T05:05:37+00:00","og_image":[{"width":680,"height":408,"url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/cell-phone-ban-classroom25-3.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Kevin","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kevin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/school-phone-ban-one-year-on-our-student-survey-reveals-mixed-feelings-about-its-success\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/school-phone-ban-one-year-on-our-student-survey-reveals-mixed-feelings-about-its-success\/"},"author":{"name":"Kevin","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#\/schema\/person\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee"},"headline":"School phone ban one year on: our student survey reveals mixed feelings about its success","datePublished":"2025-04-01T05:05:37+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/school-phone-ban-one-year-on-our-student-survey-reveals-mixed-feelings-about-its-success\/"},"wordCount":811,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/school-phone-ban-one-year-on-our-student-survey-reveals-mixed-feelings-about-its-success\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/cell-phone-ban-classroom25-3.jpg","keywords":["phone ban"],"articleSection":["Education"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/school-phone-ban-one-year-on-our-student-survey-reveals-mixed-feelings-about-its-success\/","url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/school-phone-ban-one-year-on-our-student-survey-reveals-mixed-feelings-about-its-success\/","name":"School phone ban one year on: our student survey reveals mixed feelings about its success - World leading higher education information and services","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/school-phone-ban-one-year-on-our-student-survey-reveals-mixed-feelings-about-its-success\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/school-phone-ban-one-year-on-our-student-survey-reveals-mixed-feelings-about-its-success\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/cell-phone-ban-classroom25-3.jpg","datePublished":"2025-04-01T05:05:37+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#\/schema\/person\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/school-phone-ban-one-year-on-our-student-survey-reveals-mixed-feelings-about-its-success\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/world.edu\/school-phone-ban-one-year-on-our-student-survey-reveals-mixed-feelings-about-its-success\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/school-phone-ban-one-year-on-our-student-survey-reveals-mixed-feelings-about-its-success\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/cell-phone-ban-classroom25-3.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/cell-phone-ban-classroom25-3.jpg","width":680,"height":408},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/school-phone-ban-one-year-on-our-student-survey-reveals-mixed-feelings-about-its-success\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/world.edu\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"School phone ban one year on: our student survey reveals mixed feelings about its success"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#website","url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/","name":"World leading higher education information and services","description":"Global Higher Education Jobs, University jobs, Lecturer & tenure jobs.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#\/schema\/person\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee","name":"Kevin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g8ba4c352a279c450aa9435d770c1ebf4","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kevin"},"description":"Kevin is founder of the world.edu project. The past 28 years have been involved in publishing to the education sector in print and the internet. Kevin has a degree in Education and has a many years experience in developing companies and projects.","sameAs":["https:\/\/world.edu"],"url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/author\/kevin\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76388"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76388\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76394,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76388\/revisions\/76394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76388"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=76388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}