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‘Close to zero impact’: US study casts doubt on effect of phone ban in schools
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 05 May 2026
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You're overreacting - kids not using phones during class is not a fundemental human rights issue.
Moreover, the study only says that there is little impact on test scores so far. That's a very limited conclusion. There's a lot more to education than test scores. Even one of the authors warns against reading this study as evidence against phone bans.
It's so wild to hear cell phones for kids being spoken of as "a right" when they didn't even exist for some of us as kids.
I get that times change, but phones feel more like a privilege than a right. Just like driving. I remember "it's a privilege, not a right" being hammered in during driving school, as irresponsible driving can mean having your privilege revoked. Having that expectation for phones as well makes sense.
While phones may cause some issues, the blatant disregard of any issues bans cause by administration and lawmakers makes it hard to trust reports of success for me, as in my experience, the removal of phones seems to wall off school from students lives, even during breaks and makes students stressed and feel overworked for no reason but "phone bad"
Everyone's always over reacting until the next one effects you. The article also said in addition to test scores it had little if any impact on bullying and attendance, not just test scores.