Cellphone bans in classrooms across Canada could 'improve grades' and 'decrease bullying'. But there's a catch
Students in most Canadian provinces are starting the new school year with new rules on cellphone use during class time. But how will it work?
The biggest hurdle administrations will face in enforcing upcoming cellphone bans in Canada's classrooms will be to get students and parents on board, according to two psychologists who spoke to Yahoo Canada.
New restrictions on cellphone usage during school hours will go into effect as students return to schools for the new year with several Canadian provinces — Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba — introducing new rules they hope will help students better focus on lessons.
Research in the last decade has effectively forced provincial governments to introduce cellphone policies, but there are concerns among teacher associations over the confusion surrounding the rollout.
Psychologist Dr. Todd Cunningham believes it is essential for teachers to be provided with the right resources so they can “shape the conversation” and be able to establish the importance of the changes to students and parents, who might have concerns about their children's safety.
“If done poorly (implementing the policies), you are going to get a lot of backlash from the youth ... But if you do it properly, [have teachers] talk about the importance of ... these guidelines ... which is to help the education system, that will help change behaviours,” Dr. Cunningham told Yahoo News Canada in a telephone interview.
...[W]hen a cell phone is present in the classroom, either on the desk, in the backpack or in the students’ pocket ... that decreased their attention.
Dependency on cellphones linked to poor mental health
According to an April 2022 Statista data report, 87 percent of Canadian teenagers interviewed (those aged between 12 and 17 years) said they use cell phones. Experts believe there is enough research to link the increasing dependency on smartphone devices with deteriorating attention spans, and even overall mental health among Canadian youth.
“There are a couple of studies that show when a cell phone is present in the classroom, either on the desk, in the backpack or in the students’ pocket — all within reach — that decreased their attention,” Cunningham said.
In addition to domestic data, a 2023 UNESCO report also found a negative link between excessive cellphone use and student academic performance. This laid the foundation for Ontario to become the first Canadian province to have a social media ban on school networks and devices.
Classrooms across Canada implementing no-phone policies
With 2024 arrived the moment of reckoning for the Canadian education system and different provincial governments, many of whom announced stricter restrictions on cellphone usage in classrooms.
Saskatchewan and Manitoba revealed their plans to curb cellphone use by students during school hours over the summer break, joining Alberta, B.C., Quebec, and Nova Scotia. Restrictions vary among provinces, but they cover students from kindergarten to Grade 12 effectively.
Manitoba banned phones in school for K-8 students and allows students from Grade 9 to 12 to use their devices during lunch and other breaks. Similar bans are in place for Ontario and Saskatchewan. British Columbia introduced new “codes of conduct” on use of personal devices in schools and so did Nova Scotia. Quebec has had a ban on all devices since December 2023.
Some boards in Ontario — where schools had been experimenting with selective cell phone usage —decided to take owners of Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to court earlier this year, claiming they are harmful to the mental health of their students.
Students 'anxious and fretful' without phones, but 'get used to it quickly'
Psychologist Jay Olson told Yahoo News Canada that banning the devices during class time is likely to benefit students in the long term.
“The early evidence suggests that smartphone bans in schools can improve grades, especially among students with poorer grades," Olson said. "Bans may also lead to a decrease in bullying and an increase in physical activity (e.g. during recess).”
“In our research, many people do report feeling anxious and fretful when they don’t have their phones, but they often get used to this quickly. My hunch is that a similar pattern will occur in schools,” Olson, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Toronto, added.
Olson also said we'll likely need time to see if these new policies have been effective at improving students' attention and grades.
"It will take a few years before we have randomized controlled trials able to answer these questions precisely,” Olson said.
Some schools saw success during the experimental phase last year. One counsellor told the CBC in June 2023: "We are seeing improved mental health, we're seeing decreased bullying, we're seeing more engagement in class, we're seeing more social interaction."
One thing's for sure: Canadian provinces are not the first — and won't be the last — to introduce cellphone policies during school time. Similar rules are in effect across Europe, like in Norway, France and Sweden, for example. But the data — for now — often relies on uneven testimonials from teachers.
