Study: Smartphone bans in schools boost children's social well-being

Prohibiting the use of smartphones in schools measurably boosts students' social well-being, according to a recent meta-analysis of five international research studies on the matter.

"The children feel better, and better enjoy going to school because during the breaks they talk to and play with each other more," says Klaus Zierer, co-author of the analysis and professor of school pedagogy at the University of Augsburg in Germany.

Published in the Switzerland-based journal Education Sciences, the analysis looked at studies from Norway, Sweden, Spain, England and the Czech Republic.

If students use their smartphone and social media in school, they're exposed to the risk of cyberbullying there too, Zierer notes. "So a smartphone ban makes school a safe space against it."

A smartphone ban may also have a positive effect on academic performance, he says, although this was difficult to measure in the studies that were examined.

"A smartphone ban alone won't improve learning, of course," remarks Zierer, but says it at least eliminates disruptions to students' concentration caused by surreptitiously looking at the devices during class.

While Zierer believes smartphones have no place at all in primary school, he says the older that children become, the greater their personal responsibility and media literacy need to be. "The key is to oversee a ban so that it's not just a rigid framework, but eventually makes checks unnecessary."