Denmark will ban smartphones in schools and after school clubs.
the education minister announced on Tuesday. We have decided to give the government’s support to this idea and that’s why we are starting to prepare a change in the law, Mattias Tesfaye told the Danish newspaper Politiken.
Danmark had already enacted a smartphone ban during class hours, but this legislation will extend to breaks and meal times, effectively completely banning smartphones from schools with students under the age of 13.
The law requires that mobile phones and personal tablets will not be allowed at school neither during break times nor during lessons. There will be exceptions for students with disabilities, or if smartphones are needed for extracurricular activities.
I think the evidence is pretty clearly showing a correlation between phones, social media and emotional issues in children and teens. Of course correlation isn’t causation, at this point I’d agree with banning smartphones for anyone under the age of 16 at least.
UNESCO has recommended banning smartphones in school. They say that these devices can and do distract students, According to UN Body, the device adversely affect learning. Mere proximity to a mobile device was found to distract students.
