Smartphones are distracting and negatively impact school performance. This is a hot issue that knows no borders and has led the Netherlands to take a drastic step, completely banning the use of mobile phones in schools. The benefits are clear, staying away from electronic devices during lessons or even during breaks brings positive effects not only on the acquisition of knowledge, but also on the social aspect.
This major change was made possible by new guidelines approved by the Ministry of Education in January 2024, to which most schools in the country have already adapted. Today, about two-thirds of Dutch secondary schools require students to leave their phones at home. In some schools, mobile phones are placed in special lockers and remain there until the end of the school day.
According to interviews conducted by the Kohnstamm Institute, 75% of students say that they can concentrate more easily on their studies or assignments, while 59% report an improvement in the classroom climate and relationships with their peers. Without their phones in their hands, young people talk more among themselves, argue, play, move, look each other in the eye and read more books. The positive effects are also felt in the fight against bullying. Some students say that even after returning home, they are more eager to interact with the people around them than to check their phone notifications. “Now that you can no longer secretly take a photo of someone in class and share it in a WhatsApp group, the feeling of social security has increased,” says Dr. Alexander Krepel, a researcher at the Kohnstamm Institute.
But the Netherlands is not alone in taking action against the use of mobile phones in schools. France was among the first, banning the use of phones for students aged 11 to 15 in 2018. For younger children, the ban has always been absolute. From the next school year, France will tighten the measure further: students will not only be allowed to not use them, but will also have to hand over their phones to special lockers managed by teachers, to be retrieved only at the end of the day. This comes after a trial period called “digital recess”, in which around a hundred French schools took part over the past six months.
A study by the University of Birmingham of 1.227 students in 30 schools, published in the journal Lancet, highlights that banning phones in school is not enough. To have a clear impact on adolescents’ mental and physical well-being, it is also necessary to control the time they spend on social media after school and at home. In the UK, 90% of schools ban the use of phones in the classroom, but 79% allow students to have them with them. A 2024 UNESCO report notes that even a minor distraction from a phone takes at least 20 minutes for a student to regain their previous concentration – a time that in an age of stimulus overload is no small feat.