In a landmark study published in The Lancet Regional Health—Europe,1,227 students from 30 schools across England provided data about smartphone and social media usage and a range of mental health, well-being and other outcomes. Among the schools that took part in the study,20 had various forms of restrictive phone policies in place.
The study found that there was no difference in outcomes for students who attend schools that ban smartphones throughout the school day, including mental health, well-being, and other health and educational outcomes.
Smartphone bans in schools did lead to a slight decrease in students using phones (approximately 40 minutes) and social media (approximately 30 minutes) in school, but the study suggests that the impact is small and that school policies banning recreational phone use didn't lead to a meaningful reduction in the overall time spent using phones and social media.
"We did find a link between more time spent on phones and social media and worse outcomes, with worse mental well-being and mental health outcomes, less physical activity and poorer sleep, lower educational attainment and a greater level of disruptive classroom behaviour," said Dr Victoria Goodyear, associate professor at the University of Birmingham and lead author of the study.
"This suggests that reducing this time spent on phones is an important focus. But we need to do more than focus on schools alone, and consider phone use within and outside of school, across a whole day and the whole week."
Professor Miranda Pallan from the University of Birmingham said, "Our study suggests that school policies are not the silver bullet for preventing the detrimental impacts of smartphone and social media use, but that addressing overall phone use should be a priority for improving health and well-being among adolescents."
