this post was submitted on 03 Jun 2026
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33
School Phone Bans: Great Politics, Mediocre Education Policy (www.techdirt.com)
submitted 1 week ago by technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/technology@lemmy.world
14 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Before the current wave of laws banning mobile phones in schools, we had published a piece from some researchers who had looked at how similar bans had worked in Australia, with the conclusion that… they didn’t. At best, the research showed the evidence on school phone bans to be “weak and inconclusive.” Those authors suggested that rather than doing outright bans, politicians should leave the issue to the schools themselves to determine what’s best.

So it should come as little surprise that two years later, after many similar bans have gone into effect in the US that… the studies are showing up as (you guessed it) weak and inconclusive. The new study from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) has some people shaking their heads because it can find no evidence of better student performance in schools.

Wait, you are telling me the moral outrage against smartphones massively misses the point?

Whatttt? I am shocked!

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[–] metermatic26@lemmy.world 21 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Banning smart phones in class is a no brainer if you want students to actually pay attention in class. But I’m baffled that they actually expected this ban to meaningfully improve test results.

Getting good grades involves doing your homework, prepping for tests, getting enough sleep to maintain your focus. All of which are done outside the classroom. If social media addiction is really the cause of plummeting school results, them banning phones inside the classroom is not going to solve the problem.

That’s like telling a junkie he can’t do drugs in class, but he can get his heroin back after school.

[–] jmp242@sopuli.xyz 11 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Though I'd say there's also a difference between banning phones in school and saying you can't use them during class. We couldn't just read our favorite fiction paperback or comic book in class back in the day either. No one ever (that I recall) suggested banning them from the school. I don't see much compelling evidence that social media is a cause, much more obvious to me is schools having become mostly worthless in the US.

[–] frongt@lemmy.zip 3 points 1 week ago

Books don't have incoming messages or short video addiction loops.

I definitely got lost in a book and missed a class change on more than one occasion myself though.

[–] metermatic26@lemmy.world 9 points 1 week ago (1 children)

And before anyone corrects me, yes I know the US public education system sucks, but I do believe social media use among children and young adults is having a seriously negative influence on the more vulnerable students.

[–] deliriousdreams@fedia.io 2 points 1 week ago

I'm surprised people think it will improve engagement or even kids paying attention to the lessons. Because as much as I understand that cell phones are absolutely a distraction in class to the point where I can understand banning them, kids who don't want to pay attention and don't have cell phones will find other ways to get distracted. The cell phone is just the newest medium.

If what some of these studies are saying is correct, not being allowed to have a cell phone is just as distracting if not more so.

[–] moakley@lemmy.world 10 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Nothing makes me feel older than seeing all this opposition to phone bans in school. I don't understand when the rules changed to allow kids to use them in the first place. I grew up before cell phones were ubiquitous, but if I brought my GBA to class, it would get confiscated. Obviously.

[–] deliriousdreams@fedia.io 4 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Were you banned from bringing them to school or banned from using them in class? My school didn't care so long as your gaming system or CD player etc was in your backpack or locker. They just didn't want you using it in class or while transiting the hallways. When we eventually did get cell phones (mostly the Nokia bricks), a lot of us had them in school. But they were not an accepted thing to use or have cause disruptions or distractions.

So I wonder a lot about what we recall vs what actually was normal back then.

[–] moakley@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

That's a good point. The article doesn't seem to specify to what extent phones are banned.

[–] deliriousdreams@fedia.io 3 points 1 week ago

Yeah. I think it might have been France that required kids to put their phones in faraday bags and leave them in a designated place (lockers or cubbies). But this article in particular didn't specify how the ban was being applied. I am curious.

[–] stardreamer@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 1 week ago

They were banned banned. No showing of any phones in class/hallways/dorms etc. If a teacher sees a phone anywhere they're supposed to confiscate it and call the parents.

Granted, actually happened was that a few exam top scorers carried a phone in their bag since they "needed it in case of emergency contact from prep school". The teachers turned a blind eye to it, and of course, the parents were also in on it. What are you gonna do, suspend the ranked No. 1 student? If anything, the only people targeted were kids with bad grades, or didn't fit in with the "prime and proper" image the school was cultivating.

[–] Zen_Shinobi@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

This will work out great! No student will ever sneak phones in class and text without the teacher looking, ever!

[–] phdepressed@sh.itjust.works -1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

That's the same logic as saying gun bans don't work.

[–] Modern_medicine_isnt@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

I think the value of the phone ban is actually very simple. Banning it from school entirely makes it an administrative issue, not a teacher issue. So it takes "some" load off the teachers shoulders. That of course won't manifest as better test scores though. But it might have a tiny affect on teacher retention.