University researchers discover what students really think of SA’s ban on phones in schools

Phone-free schools have shattered the 'glass ceiling' on teenage friendships, new research has found – but may be worsening emotional distress in some students.

Banning mobile phones in schools has shattered a “glass ceiling” stopping kids from making friends – but exposed an “overreliance” on devices to cope with difficult emotions.

These are the findings of one of the first studies in the country of young people’s views on South Australia’s nation-leading move to ban personal devices in public school classrooms from mid-2023.

The move prompted other states to follow suit and mobile phones were banned across most schools in the country.

Flinders University and University of Adelaide researchers surveyed more than 1500 students aged 12 to 18 at five SA public schools.

Almost all owned a phone and almost half said they had used it at school.

The researchers heard that the distracting presence of phones in the schoolyard “had seemed ... to impose a ‘glass ceiling’ on the quality of some social relationships”.

“As one (student) reflected, it had been difficult to find a best friend before the phone ban because they had not been able to get to know another person well enough,” the researchers wrote.

Charles Campbell Secondary College, Riley, 16, and Divpinder, 14, said the phone ban in SA schools had helped students reconnect with each other. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

Others had been “teased or laughed at for not owning an expensive or new phone” but this had lessened following the ban.

Students listed other benefits including fewer distractions in class, less “drama” or gossipping and better “noticing their surroundings”.

One boy, 12, talked about “being able to appreciate the sunshine” without deferring to a screen.

In comparison, some students were so addicted prior to the ban that they would “even use their phone when walking down the stairs”, one 13-year-old girl said.

A 12-year-old girl thought students were better able to concentrate “rather than worrying about how much likes their TikTok post got”.

However, the researchers found that many students felt at a loss to manage “distressing” emotions, stress, anxiety, loneliness or boredom without their phones.

“I have developed a bunch of strategies to cope with my anxiety using my phone. Now I can’t use my phone,” said one 18-year-old girl.

Another girl the same age said access to the internet and apps provided “a place for my mind to escape when everything feels like it is getting too much and too stressful, a way to calm down”.

A 14-year-old girl said she missed being able to “listen to music in class to help concentrate and block out the bad thoughts”.

The researchers warned these findings “underscore the urgent need to monitor and address students’ overreliance on phones for socialising, emotion regulation and coping with mental health issues”.

Students noted other downsides to the ban including not being able to take photos of notes on a whiteboard in class, pay at the canteen with digital debit cards or communicate quickly with parents or employers.

One girl, 14, said if a student “gets her period and needs to call her mum” it would be embarrassing for others to overhear a conversation at the school office.

“Having to go through student services feels weirdly invasive and many students are uncomfortable doing it,” said another girl, 15.

Since Term 3, 2023, all students at SA government schools have been required to turn off their devices and keep them “out of sight” during school hours, often in lockable pouches.

The ban applies to mobile phones and personal devices including smart watches, iPads, tablets and laptops. Teachers are able to grant some exemptions.

At Adelaide Catholic school Loreto College, phones have been banned since 2022 and this year its year 7 students joined the junior school in handing their devices in to staff in the morning.

Year 8 students started handing their phones in to teachers from term 2 this year.

Loreto College students Ruby, 15, Phoebe, 17, and Ava, 16, say in many ways it’s a relief to be able to focus in school without their phones on hand. Picture Mark Brake

Loreto’s pupils embraced the ban and year 12 student Phoebe, 17, said it “gave girls time away from their phones”.

The school’s wellbeing program encourages students to set time limits for phone usage outside of the classroom.

Year 11 student Ava, 16, said “you’re not here to be on your phone”.

While in the boarding house at the college, year 10 student Ruby she can get more connection with her friends without the use of a phone.

“Schools are the only place you can go and be mobile phone free,” the 15-year-old said.

Loreto College principal Kylie McCullah said their students “embrace our mobile-phone-free approach during the school day, recognising the benefits it brings to their wellbeing”.

“It allows them to really focus on their learning, focus on developing and forming and socialising at lunch and recess … rather than the pressures on that fear of missing out of what’s happening on social media,” she said.

“It allows their brain to have a break.”

But it is important to teach students “a sense of responsibility” to manage their own phone usage.

“It’s about working with the young person and explaining to them why this rule is in place,” Ms McCullah said.

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Originally published as University researchers discover what students really think of SA’s ban on phones in schools