NSW Labor Is Proposing To Ban Mobile Phones In Classrooms
“I’m worried that young people are guinea pigs, we really don’t know what the long-term effects will be when it comes to mobile phone usage or social media.”
The New South Wales Labor Party has announced that it will ban mobile phones in school classrooms if victorious in the upcoming state election.
NSW Opposition Leader Chris Minns announced the new education policy today, which would see mobile phones prohibited from classrooms across the state — citing his fears for his own children’s education.
“It’s almost impossible to work out whether a student is attempting to solve a complicated calculus problem, or is on a TikTok video or texting a classmate in the middle of class,” Minns said in an interview with 2GB radio.
“I’m worried that young people are guinea pigs; we really don’t know what the long-term effects will be when it comes to mobile phone usage or social media.”
The evidence is clear, using phones at school hurts our kids.
If we’re elected, this ends.
— Chris Minns (@ChrisMinnsMP) September 4, 2022
Minns said that the ban would follow similar restrictions in Western Australia, Victoria and South Australia, which have already instated rules prohibiting students’ use of mobile phones in classrooms.
“We’ll leave it up to schools whether they collect all mobile phones at the beginning of the day, or they just make a blanket rule that you cannot take it out of your bag while class is in session” Minns said.
Academic research is mixed as to whether banning mobile phones in classrooms actually yields benefits such as a reductions in cyberbullying and better academic performance.
Researcher at Western Sydney University
“Over COVID lockdowns there was enormous reliance on children to use their devices to learn, socialise and stay mentally well,” Orlando said in The Conversation.
“Now we are (mostly) back to normal and suddenly, young people are no longer to be trusted with a screen in the context of their schooling. Not only is this confusing for young people, it sets up a dynamic where something they need to use everyday is seen now seen as ‘wrong’ or ‘harmful’.”
The NSW State election is scheduled for March 2023.
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