Banning mobile phones doesn’t work, we need to educate kids better: podcast

High schools around the country have banned mobile phones to ensure students' wellbeing and learning outcomes, yet research shows it does not provide the expected effect in the long term.

Schools choosing to ban mobile phones often believe it will reduce cyberbullying and improve students' attention in class, researcher in digital literacy and digital wellbeing at Western Sydney University, Joanne Orlando, told Education Review.

“The idea that cyber bullying will dramatically be reduced or will be eliminated because mobile phone bans are in place doesn't really have any evidence behind it.”

The researcher believes that banning mobile phones takes students away from the real working world where access to mobile phones won’t be regulated. 

“If students have their mobile phones banned, when they go home, to university or years later when they’ll go into work, they will not have the education behind that helps them to actually work in a digitally saturated world.

"Whether a school is banning phones or not, they need to have new strategies as it is new basic skill for students."

Orlando joined Education Review to discuss the research around mobile phone bans and how schools can help educate students to manage the use of the device.