Jury still out on whether school phone bans are effective
Mobile phones are now banned in public schools across Australia. Politicians say there have been big improvements in student behaviour since the bans were first introduced, but some experts say there are still questions about their effectiveness. BTN High's Michelle Wakim asked students what they have to say about their experiences.
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00:00A lot of the students we spoke to had some really good things to say about the phone
00:06ban. While they were all really sceptical at the beginning, they did say they adjusted
00:11to it very quickly. And while it hasn't solved all the issues they face at school, it has
00:16had some really positive impacts around distraction and mental health. But I will let them explain.
00:22Let's see what they had to say.
00:23I wasn't too happy about it. But over the weeks, I slowly grew into it.
00:29Mentally, I think it's definitely helped with concentration and your overall mood in school.
00:34I've actually seen some changes to my mental health and wellbeing because the phone ban
00:38has enabled me to not have a dependency on using social media all the time. So it's allowed
00:44me to really enjoy the world and just reality.
00:48It's good to have phones in lockers, especially if there are new ways for students to be distracted
00:52in class. It's good to eliminate at least one so that they can focus on learning, which
00:56is what you come to school to do.
00:57In general, I think we've just accepted it really well. And I think that over the next
01:01couple of years, when it keeps going and it starts to become more of an expectation for
01:06high school, I think it will really help just the wellbeing of every student.
01:10We spoke to Professor Campbell at the Queensland University of Technology, and she's just completed
01:16a massive review into all the research globally around this area. And she says there's not
01:22enough evidence to support a phone ban in schools. She says that for some young people,
01:30it's actually really good for their mental health to have their phones with them,
01:34especially if their communities and support networks aren't at the school where they go to.
01:39She also says that instead of a ban for high school students, we should be teaching them
01:45how to use their devices in moderation so that as adults, they have a healthy relationship
01:50with technology. So while the politicians and government are celebrating the statistics,
01:55and anecdotally, some of the students we spoke to said really good things,
02:00the research behind it, there's still some scepticism around the research behind it.