Introduction to Smartphone Ban in Schools
On her first day of school after the summer break, Klara Ptak almost forgot her phone at home, the clearest sign that the student at the Dalton High School in Alsdorf, North Rhein-Westphalia, adapted to school life without a phone. At the end of April, her school stopped a strict mobile phone ban for all classes. Ptak, now 17 years old, said that many students asked what the point was, but over time, many have recognized that it is not so bad and that it actually has some advantages.
Student Opinions on the Ban
However, she says that opinions are shared: "The teachers are mostly for it; the younger students accept it; but the older ones are not entirely happy." The Dalton High School is one of many schools in Germany that is no longer available and would like to observe the excessive telephone use of its students. After the Easter break, a pilot program called "Smart Ohn’s phone" ("Smart without phone") started. Since the beginning of the program, the students have to keep hidden in their pockets all school day. When a student is caught with his phone, he will be confiscated and can only be called up by her parents by the school office the next day.
Effectiveness of the Ban
"A total of 51 phones were confiscated – this is a fairly significant number when you consider that we have 700 students," says Ptak. "And they can really see a difference, especially among the younger children. In the past, they were in a circle that stared at their screens, and now they play football, badminton or board games together. It is a dramatic shift." The school now provides all students from the seventh grade tablets. The headmaster of the school welcomes the positive results of the telephone ban, which are supported by a thorough assessment, which is carried out with the participation of students, parents, and teachers.
Nationwide Smartphone Regulations
Germany is in the middle of a growing debate on how schools should manage the students’ smartphone use, especially in the absence of a nationwide policy. Should telephones be fully prohibited or the educators trust that the students use them responsibly? The German National Academy of Sciences has proposed to ban telephones up to ten and recommends keeping children under the age of 13 away from the Internet and social media.
Parental Involvement
Many parents come together with the smartphone dilemma. A survey showed that parents of children from 12 to 18 years state the media consumption of their children as the leading stress source. The survey also showed that 90% of the teachers support the ban – they noticeably observed the social behavior and a greater focus among the students, especially among the younger ones. Most students (up to the age of 13) also looked at the ban positively, while older students aged 16 to 19 reacted skeptically. In the meantime, 85% of the parents were for the ban and said that their children had become more independent and more communicative, themselves at home.
Unique Project in Solingen
About 100 kilometers further east, in Solingen, a unique project continues. From the first day of school, all classes of fifth grade started a full break from social media. Students between the ages of ten and eleven have undertaken not to keep themselves from Instagram, Snapchat, and Tiktok at home. The initiative comes from Burkhard Brörken, a former headmaster who now acts as an educational representative in Dusseldorf’s district government. A written declaration of intent was signed by everyone involved who confirmed their commitment to one year to work together on the project.
Parental Guidance
Alev Kanowski is not a stranger for such problems. Her daughter was one of the last in her class who got a phone at the age of nine. Kanowski announced that many students get a smartphone when they are still in primary school, and the pressure is intense. If you don’t have a phone, you can place a child on the edge of his peer group. Kanovski’s daughter, now a fifth grader in Solingen, initially showed the ban on social media. "She couldn’t avoid when we explained how much telephones children distract in everyday life," said Kanowski. She said she wanted more education and guidance on this topic.
Assessment of the Initiative
The new "Social Media Break" initiative will be assessed in the coming months. The support of his rollout is 50 trained "media scouts" in school students aged 12 to 14, which are well positioned near their concerns at the age of the fifth graders. These scouts play a key role in helping younger students to control online risks and take on healthier digital habits. Burkhard Brörken hopes that the project will have a positive response. He believes that today’s children are more challenges than earlier generations. The schools now see significantly more children and adolescents who have to struggle with depression and anxiety-a topic that was far less visible a decade ago. Today it is reality in practically every school. The Covid 19 pandemic has strengthened the crisis and accelerated a trend that was already in operation.
