Has Banning Phones Improved Performance At Dutch Schools?

Anna HolliganAmsterdam


Two years back, Dutch schools banned mobile phones to reduce distractions, improve student concentration, and encourage better academic efficiency. Ever since, smart phones, smartwatches and tablets have been exiled from classrooms, corridors and canteens in schools across the Netherlands.


Now the Dutch federal government desires to go even more, pressing to restrict social media for under-16s and calling for an EU-wide 15+ age limit for apps like Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.


At Amsterdam's Cygnus Gymnasium school, a fluorescent yellow sign on the school gates cautions pupils streaming in on their bikes: "Attention: from this point on, your phone must remain in your locker. Thank you."


The appealing (in Dutch a minimum of) slogan - "Telefoon t'huis of in de kluis" (Phone in the house or in the locker) - now applies across the country.


Rather than passing a law, the government chose for a nationwide arrangement with schools, moms and dads and teachers, arguing this would secure buy-in and bring in the guidelines rapidly without a lengthy legal fight.


In the school passage, outside an English class embellished with artwork portraying different Shakespeare plays, pals Hanna and Fena confide they have blended sensations about the restriction.


"Since the restriction we have to see out for the instructors, so they don't take the phones," they say. "I think it's annoying but not like it's breaking our rights or something like that.


"Maybe now we are a bit more in the moment. In the break no one is really on their phones."


Their teacher, Ida Peters, notifications the distinction too. "As an instructor you're always trying to get kids' attention. It's always an obstacle to get that focus in class, and now their phones are less present, that definitely helps."


Smartphones are not suggested to be out in UK class either, but with no national guidelines on where they must be the rest of the day, schools and instructors are delegated improvise.


In the Netherlands, the nationwide agreement means the onus is off the teachers. Ms Peters feels this Dutch method has actually liberated staff. "There's less friction in class management," she states.


"In the corridors there utilized to be a great deal of inspecting the phone; now it's more relaxed, a calmer atmosphere, not too concerned about anything else going on."


Phones aren't enabled at breaks or school parties either, Ms Peters includes, so students do not stress that they might be photographed and set up on Snapchat or Instagram. "And when kids are more relaxed, their learning outcomes enhance."


Early data supports her impressions.


A government-commissioned study of 317 secondary schools discovered that about three-quarters reported much better concentration considering that phones were prohibited.


Almost two-thirds said the social climate had enhanced, and around a third saw much better scholastic performance. Other surveys suggest less bullying when devices are taken out of the school day.


Fifteen-year-old Felix and Karel, in the standard uniform of large hoodies and denims, invest in between 2 and 5 hours a day on social networks.


Karel keeps his phone charging next to his bed and checks messages as quickly as he awakens; Felix waits up until after breakfast.


"When I initially heard the news, I thought, 'I wish to switch schools due to the fact that this isn't what I came here for,'" one of them confesses. "But I have not really felt a drawback of it. If it happens in the UK, I think it will have a positive influence on the students."


In the Netherlands, the debate has actually already moved onto social networks.


The Dutch government formally recommends that children under 15 must remain off social networks, and the new federal government coalition desires a Europe-wide, enforceable 15+ minimum age backed by age-verification. They argue that if states can limit alcohol or gambling, they ought to also act when platforms are created to be addictive.


The three celebrations in federal government hold just 66 of 150 seats in parliament, so they need assistance from others, and any binding guideline on kids accessing social media would need to be negotiated at EU level. But popular opinion appears to be moving in their favour.


A Unicef study of more than 1,000 Dutch kids and teenagers discovered that 69% favoured a social networks ban for under-18s.


In the same study, 28% stated platforms need to be off-limits for under-12s entirely, arguing that more youthful kids ought to "still be playing outside instead of on their phones" and explaining social media as addicting, risky and bad for their psychological health.


A yearly social networks study by research company Newcom found that 60% of 16-to-28-year-olds back an age limit, up from 44% a year earlier.


This challenges the idea that young individuals are desperate to be completely online.


Former education minister Koen Becking indicates "growing evidence" that heavy social networks use is bad for mental health and social interaction, saying Dutch data show kids are more sidetracked and more anxious when they have access to gadgets.


Back at Cygnus school, Karel says he would be "a little ravaged" if a social media restriction was implemented.


"I'm a bit addicted, I'm on TikTok as quickly as I get up or inspecting messages from pals."


But schoolmate Felix is more relaxed: "You 'd get utilized to it and find other things to do, so I do not believe I would really mind."


At the same time, the Dutch Research Council is now taking a look at the unintended repercussions of the smart device ban, and whether being without a phone all day increases worry of missing out on out and triggers more intensive phone use after school.


The pupils all insist they are not bingeing more before and after school. But Felix confides that while many trainees still keep phones in their pockets - so long as instructors do not see - he believes keeping the screens out of sight has made them more present.


"People are talking more, going to the stores rather of just sitting in the snack bar on their phones," he states. "We hang out more; social connections have enhanced."


For Dutch kids, scrolling on mobile phones is no longer a part of school life. The next concern for the Netherlands, and perhaps, quickly, for the UK, is whether access to the social media apps must be consigned to history too.