TLDR
Keeping phones away during school hours reduced phone use at school, but did not reduce total use or improve students’ wellbeing. More phone and social media use was linked with poorer health, sleep, activity, behaviour, and school results.
Summary
This content was automatically synthesized by Credo's AI models directly from the original source text.
AI summaries can make mistakes — double-check important details against the original source.
1 Study Aim
The authors aimed to test whether restrictive school phone policies improve adolescents’ mental wellbeing, health, behaviour, and school performance. They also examined whether these policies reduce total smartphone and social media use. The study expected restrictions to reduce overall use and improve related outcomes. The study asked whether keeping phones out of reach at school improves students’ wellbeing and daily lives.
2 Study Design
The researchers conducted a cross-sectional observational study (a study measuring differences at one period without assigning treatments) in 30 English secondary schools. Twenty schools restricted recreational phone use, while ten permitted it during certain times or in specific areas. The sample included 1,227 pupils aged 12–15. Students completed validated surveys, including the Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS), a questionnaire measuring mental wellbeing. Teachers reported behaviour and attainment. Accelerometers (wearable movement trackers) measured sleep and physical activity for seven days. Mixed-effects regression models (statistical models accounting for differences between schools) adjusted for pupil and school characteristics. The researchers compared existing school policies rather than assigning policies to schools.
3 Findings
The study found no meaningful wellbeing difference between restrictive and permissive schools. The adjusted wellbeing difference was −0.48 points, with uncertainty ranging from −2.05 to 1.06. Restrictive schools reduced phone use during school by 0.67 hours and social media use by 0.54 hours. However, weekday, weekend, and weekly totals did not differ. The authors also found no policy differences in anxiety, depression, sleep, physical activity, attainment, classroom disruption, or problematic social media use. Across schools, greater overall phone and social media use was associated with poorer wellbeing, more anxiety and depression, less sleep and activity, more disruption, and weaker English and mathematics attainment. Because the design was observational, these links cannot prove cause and effect. The authors recommend broader approaches addressing phone use inside and outside school. Restricting phones at school alone changed school-time use but did not improve students’ wider health or school outcomes.