Should Mobile Phones be banned in schools?

As we continue to move with time, so does technology as devices are becoming more and more prevalent. The continuation of new designs and upgrades leaves people with the desire to purchase mobile phones yearly. Statistically speaking, in 2019 the UK registered the highest smartphone penetration rate in the world of 82.9% this indicates just how much people are engaging and relying on mobile devices. Further statistics show that Generation Z spend an average of 4 hours 15 minutes per day on their mobile with 95% of them owning a smart phone, this is an extremely large amount of young people using mobile devices suggesting they are essentially dependent on technology as a further 57% admitted they feel insecure without them.

This week we focused our attention to the ‘Dark Side’ of the increasing use of technology and the internet, by looking at some of the dangers that can occur concerning this. As per usual, we formed our own small groups to discuss what might be the potential issues that can rise from constant access of the internet. Below are some of the various problems that we came up with:

• Cyber-bullying: this can be approached through many different ways such as name calling, spamming, fake accounts
• Strangers: hackers that can steal your information, begin to groom children, pedophiles
• Social media: addiction to likes and attention, distorts the mind, accidentally send out personal information and trends that endanger others
• Data: passwords can be stolen, adverts that use your information through websites and cookies that can track you

Later, we moved on to discuss whether or not ‘mobile phones should be banned in schools?’ this was a difficult question we were asked by our lecturer as there were definitely positives and negatives that could be identified, but we were specifically told to decide on either ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. One reason why mobile phones can be viewed positively in relation to schooling is because they increase a sense of safety for both students and parents as students may be presented with a situation where they need to contact for an emergency. This is especially useful for medical emergencies or even just so parents can contact their child to check on them e.g. running late. Arguably, the use of mobile phones for this reason can be seen as unimportant as students are able to speak to teachers and student reception if any problems were to occur. Furthermore, another reason why phones could be permitted is because they allow for quick and easy access to any online learning materials that students may need to view during lessons as well as it can also help pupils to become more independent if they discover information themselves and therefore they won’t need support from others. However, this may not be enough to to fully permit phone usage in schools as Gavin Williamson claims that excluding mobile phones can “help students to focus on their education, limit bad behaviour to create a calmer classroom and has been proven to significantly boost attainment and can prevent bullying”.

Personally, I believe that mobile phones should be banned in school as my group discussed and came to the conclusion that the negatives outweigh the positives, this particularly means the dangers are more recognised and common to occur than the benefits. For example, banning phones means that bullying is decreased as some may use their phones as a way to spread rumours and negative information about other people, this can commonly occur without the teachers being aware which can be seen as an added danger. Further, not allowing the use of phones means pupils won’t have access to social media trends that act as a distraction in between lessons such as TikTok and Instagram which allow you to continuously scroll through images and videos, this can be addicting for students and difficult to shift their attention away from. As a result, the issues in relation to using mobile phones can be extremely disruptive especially in the middle of classes and ultimately affect student concentration and academic achievement. Moreover, results from an investigation into the impact on student performance of banning mobile phones in England suggest that test scores of students aged 16 increased by 6.4% of a standard deviation, and low- performing students were more likely to be distracted by the presence of phones than high- performing students therefore this is a considerable benefit as the gap between low and high achieving pupils is reduced.

References:

Strugar, M. (2021) Smartphone usage statistics for the UK, Available from: https://cybercrew.uk/blog/smartphone-usage-statistics-uk/ (Accessed: 28 November 2021).

Freer, A. (2019) A look at Gen Z mobile behaviours- 64% of mobile users are always connected, Available from: https://www.businessofapps.com/news/a-look-at-gen-z-mobile-behaviours-64-of-mobile-users-are-always-connected/ (Accessed: 28 November 2021).

Hazell, W. and Williams, R. (2021) Should we ban mobile phones in schools in England? Experts explain pros and cons of Gavin Williamson’s plan, Available from: https://inews.co.uk/news/education/ban-mobile-phones-schools-england-1084205 (Accessed: 28 November 2021).

Beland, L. P. (2021) Banning mobile phones in schools can improve students’ academic performance, Available at: https://theconversation.com/banning-mobile-phones-in-schools-can-improve-students-academic-performance-this-is-how-we-know-153792 (Accessed: 28 November 2021).