By Anna Cristina D’Addio, GEM Report
A ‘quiet’ revolution is underway in schools around the world. While the debates over digital learning rage on, a growing number of governments and education systems have taken a bold stance: phones off, and out of sight. New GEM Report analysis in this blog shows that, while one in four countries had smartphone restrictions in schools in 2023, this number has surged. Today, more than half of countries have policies restricting phone use in schools.
The wave of change on smartphone use in schools reflects the increasing concerns of parents, teachers and policy makers about the adverse effects of phones and social media on academic engagement and learning, social interactions, sleep, mental health, cognitive abilities privacy – to name but a few. The 2023 GEM Report’s gender edition argued that girls were twice as likely as boys to suffer from eating disorders exacerbated by social media usage. Facebook’s own research had revealed that 32% of teenage girls felt worse about their bodies after using Instagram. The report further noted alarming trends related to TikTok’s algorithm, which targets teenagers with body image content every 39 seconds and promotes content related to eating disorders every eight minutes.
Excessive screen and social media use not only affects individuals but also impacts the economy. Due to effects on workplace productivity, individuals’ perceived well-being and mental health, the annual cost to the economy of the United States as a result of screen use was estimated at USD 73 billion. Recent estimates suggest that the negative impact on children’s mental health and cognitive abilities currently costs 0.6% of GDP to France and could rise to 2.3% of GDP by 2060.
On the launch of the 2023 GEM Report on technology in education, the accompanying mapping of the PEER country profiles showed that 24% of countries had smartphone restrictions in schools. However, our latest monitoring results show that this number has surged, with 52% of countries now implementing policies to restrict phone use in schools, a significant increase.
The Netherlands implemented a ban in secondary schools in January 2024 and extended it to primary schools a few months later. The city of Zhengzhou in China demanded written parental consent for any phone use in schools. Chile, Denmark, Ecuador, Ethiopia, France, Finland, Italy and the Republic of Korea have all recently passed or tightened bans. Bulgaria already has a ban but is tightening it to cover other smart devices.
In federal or highly decentralized countries, sub-national governments may differ in their approaches. All Australian states and territories now have bans in place, though details vary by grade and school type. In Belgium, bans take effect in August and September 2025 across all schools in both French– and Flemish-speaking regions. In Canada, at least nine provinces have phone restrictions, with differences in age and school-level enforcement. In Indonesia, provinces such as West Java and cities such as Mataran in West Nusa Tenggara province have rolled out bans for all public schools, including Islamic ones. In Mexico, states like Querétaro have implemented full prohibitions. Aguascalientes, Mexico City and Jalisco are reportedly considering similar moves. Spain has also seen widespread adoption: 14 of 17 autonomous communities have introduced bans, with Catalonia removing prior exceptions. In the United States, nearly all states have enacted bans, but with wide variation in their details.
The ‘quiet’ revolution is real. But if this movement is to deliver on its promise, it will need more than bans. It will require thoughtful policy, buy-in from educators and families and, above all, an honest conversation about what schools are for and who they serve.
Above and beyond whether or not these bans are in place, there is a question over whether or not having a ban matters for learning. A follow-up blog will explore this question.
Read part 2: Are phone bans working?
I once taught Statistics to a graduate class in Business Administration. On the first day, when I entered the classroom, I noticed that the students were only half-listening. Despite repeated reminders, many were buried in their mobile phones, and Statistics seemed to interest them far less than whatever was happening on their screens. I left the classroom deeply discouraged. I knew that Statistics requires full concentration, and I wondered how these young adults could learn a demanding subject while remaining distracted. It felt impossible to convince them that their future was connected to Statistics, not to their mobile phones.
Then I began to think differently: instead of fighting the phone, why not make the phone my teaching ally? That very evening, I spent several hours searching for material relevant to the first chapter—content presented with color, animation, and attractive visuals, all accessible through the mobile screen. At the next class, something remarkable happened. The students immediately said, “Now we understand what Statistics is!”
The rest of the course remained challenging, but I continued the same approach—teaching Statistics through the very device that once distracted them. In the end, their performance and comprehension were far better than what I could have achieved through traditional lecturing and chalk-and-board teaching.
There is a lesson here for education policy: rather than banning or disabling mobile phones during class, we should learn how to use them as powerful tools for learning. Students today live through their phones—therefore, our teaching should learn to live there as well