Why Banning Smartphones in Schools is a Bad Idea

There are many ways to deal with the use of smartphones in schools. One solution is to ban their use outright. This would probably be a scheme introduced with the best intentions for the students and teachers. However, it may not turn out so. There are a lot of downfalls to separating phones from students.

The first problem would be removing the phones from the students. Due to the habitual nature of using social media or ‘socials’ they would probably experience withdrawal symptoms and may not be able to cope. Withdrawing from social media for over 6 hours a day may lead to similar symptoms to addicts going ‘cold turkey’. The students may be unfocused, anxious or even angry. They may require some sort of ‘chill out’ room. This would be a place to help the students maintain a sense of calm or relaxation.

Of course, this would change behaviours before and after school too. Anticipating a loss of their ‘socials’ for the day, students may spend more time in the morning feeding on the latest Instagram or X posts. And what about after school? After 6 hours, the students’ FOMO’ (Fear of Missing Out) will have reached fantastic proportions and they will probably spend the rest of the day, evening and night glued to that screen, not doing their homework.

There is also the issue of security. How would such a system be managed? Would the students be banned from bringing the phones to school grounds or would there be some sort of facility or phone lockers for the smartphones? If the students cannot be around their phones, it may increase a sense of anxiety. In some university examinations, third-level students are allowed to have their phones on the desk but turned off. Could this be a new policy in schools? If the phones are on the premises, it could also lead to a lot of long toilet (but really scrolling) breaks.

It is not only the students who would be affected. (Teachers aren’t going to like this one) If the students can’t have their phones in the school, neither can the teachers. Imagine the chaos it would cause if the teachers were looking up their holiday pics on Facebook (I say Facebook, because, adults) and the students in the classroom had nothing? So, there would be no WhatsApp or texting or checking socials for the teachers either.

The use of smartphones is not only about social media. What if students or teachers needed their phones for health monitoring, alerts, faith-based notices, pandemics, weather alerts, or just to calm their anxieties? And what happens in an emergency? Who does a student call if there is a sudden incident or disappearance? A student can’t be tracked without their phone.

Of course, apart from the little list of nightmares above, smartphones can be a useful educational tool. Students can find points of view for a debate or learn about different cultures (through video) and some shy students can find the courage to express themselves through apps like Instagram, X or Facebook, especially if they are not confident speakers. Teachers can also benefit from social media, as the students are already heavily invested in it. Instead of banning smartphones, schools can use them as an educational tool. With a little bit of planning and management, this free and easy tool is quite accessible and useful, and the students are more than eager to use it.

The author

Dr. John Jennings

Dr. John Jennings is an educational theorist from Galway, he has a PhD in TESOL with research in Social-Media and Education. He has researched the perceptions that students have of Social-Media in Education and how it affects their interaction with the academic world. He is also an avid virtual runner