Has Banning Phones Improved Performance At Dutch Schools?

Anna HolliganAmsterdam


Two years ago, Dutch schools banned mobile phones to decrease interruptions, boost student concentration, and motivate much better academic efficiency. Since then, cellphones, smartwatches and tablets have been banished from classrooms, corridors and canteens in schools throughout the Netherlands.


Now the Dutch federal government wants to go even more, pressing to limit social networks 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 students streaming in on their bikes: "Attention: from this point on, your phone must be in your locker. Thank you."


The appealing (in Dutch at least) slogan - "Telefoon t'huis of in de kluis" (Phone in the house or in the locker) - now uses nationwide.


Instead of passing a law, the government opted for a national agreement with schools, moms and dads and instructors, arguing this would protect buy-in and generate the guidelines quickly without a prolonged legal battle.


In the school passage, outside an English classroom embellished with artwork portraying various Shakespeare plays, good friends Hanna and Fena confide they have mixed feelings about the ban.


"Since the ban we have to look out for the instructors, so they do not take the phones," they state. "I think it's irritating however not like it's breaking our rights or something like that.


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


Their teacher, Ida Peters, notices the distinction too. "As a teacher you're constantly trying to get . It's constantly a difficulty to get that focus in class, and now their phones are less present, that certainly helps."


Smartphones are not indicated to be out in UK class either, however without any national rules on where they ought to be the remainder of the day, schools and teachers are left to improvise.


In the Netherlands, the across the country arrangement suggests the onus is off the instructors. Ms Peters feels this Dutch technique has liberated personnel. "There's less friction in class management," she says.


"In the hallways there utilized to be a lot of checking the phone; now it's more unwinded, a calmer atmosphere, not too worried about anything else going on."


Phones aren't permitted at breaks or school celebrations either, Ms Peters includes, so pupils do not worry that they may be photographed and installed on Snapchat or Instagram. "And when kids are more unwinded, their learning outcomes enhance."


Early data supports her impressions.


A government-commissioned research study of 317 secondary schools found that about three-quarters reported much better concentration since phones were banned.


Almost two-thirds stated the social environment had actually enhanced, and around a 3rd saw better scholastic efficiency. Other studies recommend less bullying when devices are taken out of the school day.


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


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


"When I initially heard the news, I thought, 'I wish to change schools due to the fact that this isn't what I came here for,'" one of them confesses. "But I have not truly felt a downside of it. If it takes place in the UK, I think it will have a positive effect on the trainees."


In the Netherlands, the argument has actually currently moved onto social media.


The Dutch federal government formally encourages that children under 15 ought to stay off social media, and the brand-new government coalition wants a Europe-wide, enforceable 15+ minimum age backed by age-verification. They argue that if states can restrict alcohol or gambling, they ought to also act when platforms are developed to be addicting.


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


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


In the very same survey, 28% said platforms must be off-limits for under-12s entirely, arguing that more youthful children must "still be playing outside instead of on their phones" and explaining social media as addicting, hazardous and bad for their psychological health.


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


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


Former education minister Koen Becking indicates "growing proof" that heavy social media use is bad for psychological health and social interaction, stating Dutch information reveal kids are more sidetracked and more nervous when they have access to gadgets.


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


"I'm a bit addicted, I'm scrolling on TikTok as soon as I awaken or checking messages from friends."


But classmate Felix is more unwinded: "You 'd get utilized to it and discover other things to do, so I don't believe I would truly mind."


At the exact same time, the Dutch Research Council is now examining the unexpected consequences of the smartphone ban, and whether lacking a phone all the time increases fear of missing out on out and activates more intensive phone use after school.


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


"People are talking more, going to the shops instead of simply being in the snack bar on their phones," he says. "We socialise more; social connections have actually improved."


For Dutch kids, scrolling on smartphones is no longer a part of school life. The next question for the Netherlands, and perhaps, soon, for the UK, is whether access to the social networks apps must be consigned to history too.