The Sydney Morning Herald reports that a local high school “has seen a dramatic decrease in behavioural issues and a boost in physical activity and students talking to each other just two months after it tightened restrictions on mobile phone usage.”
The school’s principal tells the newspaper that “in eight weeks of the policy, there has been a 90 per cent reduction in behavioural issues related to phones in the school.”
He said it was “so clear” that mobile phones hindered student learning and focus in classrooms and stunted their emotional and social intelligence. He said phone usage also contributed directly to conflict between students.
“At a time when mental health is of such a concern amongst our young people, our school community saw the phone as a significant and negative contributor to student wellbeing,” he said….
An online petition calling for a ban on mobile phones in NSW high schools