#readwise # Do Bans on Smartphones in Schools Improve Mental Health?  ## Metadata - Author: [[The Economist]] - Full Title: Do Bans on Smartphones in Schools Improve Mental Health? - URL: https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2025/02/14/do-bans-on-smartphones-in-schools-improve-mental-health ## Summary Some countries have banned smartphones in schools to help improve students' focus and mental health. Studies show that increased social media use during puberty can lead to lower life satisfaction, especially for girls and younger boys. However, research comparing schools with strict phone policies to those with relaxed rules found no significant difference in mental well-being. More detailed studies are needed to understand the true impact of smartphone use on children's mental health. ## Highlights That there is a problem seems clear. **In 2021 America’s surgeon general compiled a report revealing that persistent feelings of hopelessness climbed by 40% among American high-school students between 2009 and 2019. The number who seriously considered killing themselves went up by 36%.** What makes these findings all the worse is that 48% of mental-health problems (like depression and anxiety) that emerge during adolescence will plague people for the rest of their lives. It is tempting to connect these trends with the increased availability of smartphones, but establishing a causal connection is difficult. Part of the problem is that smartphones contain multitudes. Using a smartphone to solve crosswords or read the news may well have markedly different psychological effects than intensive social-media use. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01jmh5fjg24jz6jxk81jse2c25)) --- The brain undergoes profound changes during puberty, meaning that any research on the effects of smartphone use needs to consider the developmental age of the children being studied as well as their precise smartphone habits. No studies have got this specific. Those that have come close, however, reveal that **unfettered access to social media on smartphones during puberty, especially at critical moments when the brain is changing, may cause problems.** One study, led by Amy Orben at the University of Cambridge, asked 17,409 people between the ages of 10 and 21 how satisfied they were with their lives and how much they used social media. The findings, reported in 2022 in *Nature Communications*, show that girls who increased their social media use over the course of a year were significantly less satisfied with their lives if the increase took place when they were between 11 and 13. Boys showed the same trend when increases took place when they were 14 or 15 years old. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01jmh5jkc80bxzqa4snqjzte4b)) --- **How much of this will change by banning phones in schools is unclear.** In a paper published in the *Lancet* in February, Victoria Goodyear at the University of Birmingham compared the mental well-being of students in schools that implemented restrictive smartphone policies with those with relaxed policies. She also monitored overall screentime. **Her results show that, though those who spent more time on a smartphone overall did have a decline in mental well-being, there was no difference between the two groups. She and her colleagues argue that setting up policies at schools alone is simply not enough.** ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01k4d48krvcskq6z5xkakz1nwn)) ^kroer9 ---