Concerns include risk taking behaviour, mental wellbeing, academic decline…

As of Monday, mobile phones are officially banned from all New South Wales public high schools — with national Healthed survey data suggesting GPs overwhelmingly support the move.

More than three quarters of GPs surveyed earlier this year (77%) said they support banning mobile phones from schools, with many citing detrimental impacts on young minds across a range of domains, from mental and emotional wellbeing and social skills to academic performance.

The ban in NSW applies in class, recess and lunchtime — though there will be exceptions “for educational purposes, or as part of a reasonable adjustment for student learning and wellbeing – such as monitoring blood sugar levels for students with diabetes.”

Meanwhile, Queensland is banning mobile phones and smart watches from all state schools next year, and the ACT is considering a ban. Public high schools in Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory already have bans in place, while globally, one in four countries have banned mobiles in schools.

In Healthed’s survey, more than 80% of GPs believed smartphones negatively impact young people — with one third saying they have a “very negative” impact on interpersonal skills.

The majority also noted negative impacts on academic and cognitive performance, risk taking behaviours, family relationships and more.

GPs are in good company supporting the ban on mobiles in schools. In July, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) released a report advocating against mobile phones in schools except in certain circumstances designed specifically for learning.

THE UNESCO report cites:

• A meta-analysis looking at mobile phone use and educational outcomes in 14 countries, which found that just having a phone nearby distracted students and negatively impacted learning
• Research suggesting that it can take students up to 20 minutes to refocus on what they were learning once they’ve become distracted
• A study which found that removing smartphones from schools in Belgium, Spain and the United Kingdom improved learning outcomes, especially for students that were not performing as well as their peers.