Schools around the country are banning phones in an attempt to improve mental health, test scores, and overall student experience.
But does it work?
In today’s newsletter:
We dive into a 3-year study on phone use in schools
The effect of phone bans on mental health.
Two songs we’ve had on repeat.
📱 Phones up! Class is in session.
Do Cell Phone Bans Improve Schools?
A 3-year study observed over 16,000 schools implementing Yondr lockable pouches for total phone bans. They collected data on test scores, attendance, and self-reports from parents and students.
Here’s what they found:
In surveys, teachers and parents were generally supportive of Yondr pouches. Students were not.
Surveys taken before the ban showed that parents believed a phone ban would improve mental health, relationships, and test scores. It’s no wonder they also supported a phone ban.
Students admitted the ban would probably improve life, but they’d rather have them for social connections and easy distractions.
So what were the results of the actual ban?
Some things got worse before they got better.
Yondr pouches did not fix everything.
Statistically speaking, the bans did not have a significant effect on test scores or attendance.
According to school records, schools saw a 16% increase in suspensions initially. But an overall decrease happened years later.
In the first year after the ban, student mental well-being declined. Then, it rebounded and actually improved by the end of the second year.
That’s a fascinating number! It indicates just how socially jarring the phone ban was for students. They needed time to return to equilibrium and perhaps were forced to interact in ways they hadn’t previously.
But when the dust settled, suspension numbers declined again and mental health improved.
Bottom line: It didn’t fix everything, but 8 hours without cell phones had a long term positive impact on mental well-being.
Yeah, let’s ban the phones.
To me, the only statistic that matters here is that mental health bump. Any other improvements—test performance, attendance, etc—are just gravy.
I think both the initial decline and the overall improvement are affirming to what most statistics reveal.
Removing phones left students feeling exposed.
Sometimes, we use cell phones. Oftentimes, they use us.
They mold and shape our desires and expectations. This has a profound impact on our kids. With a large sample size, we see that removing phones was a net-negative at the start of implementation.
Imagine students adjusting to the new norm: phantom buzzing, awkward silences, unable to text your friends in another class and forced connect with the strangers around them. You’d also report feeling frustrated and uncomfortable.
It likely brought anxieties to the forefront. Kids had no idea how dependent they had become on their screens.
But for the schools that stayed the course…
Discomfort led to growth.
Kids were healthier and happier.
When it comes to cell phone bans, it doesn’t matter if parents and student initially support it. What matters is that in the long run, students’ mental health and general well-being healed over time.
That itself is an indicator that there is something wrong with our current cellphone use. It also means that the road forward is through slow, steady change.
When I talk to people about smart habits, I am always skeptical of quick fixes and easy solutions.
Social media detoxes have their place, but for long-term health, we need change that lasts. For the schools surveyed, this bore itself out in well-being and behavior incidents that got worse before they got better.
And taking the phones away didn’t get rid of the classic challenges of middle and high school: awkward interactions, bullies, tests, none of those things went away.
Life is more complicated than that.
Given the evidence, I think we should put the phones up at school. Over the long haul, we’ll see the benefits far outweigh the challenges.
But it’s ultimately not up to schools to teach our kids how to navigate technology.
It’s up to us.
What do you think? Let me know next month!
Have different thoughts on the phone ban? More questions about this data? I’d love to talk to you about it in person!
1️⃣ Region One Prevention Conference
📍 Fayetteville Public Library
📆 Tuesday, June 8th
This June, I’m back at the Region One Prevention Conference. I keynoted there last year, and I’m back with fresh content!
I’ll be focusing on practical conversations social workers and counselors can have with teens on video games and social media addictions. We’ll connect the dots on how screen time is affecting mental health and recovery.
The conference is open to the public and free. Come join a welcoming community of parents, teachers, law enforcement, and leaders to learn about substance misuse prevention and healthy futures in NWA.
I’d love to see you there!
Mother’s Day weekend was great. Good food and good times celebrating mom in our house.
The soundtrack to The Goofy Movie has been on repeat per my kids requests. The movie is ok. The two main songs are excellent.
If you use Spotify… here are the links if you want to join our jam session.
— Ian