New studies confirm mental health benefits of school phone bans

Two new research papers by a team of Flinders University and international experts have shed light on the impacts, focusing on students’ feedback before and after mobile phone bans were introduced in South Australia in June 2023, as well as in-depth follow-up insights.

The first study, published in Computers in Human Behavior highlights mostly positive responses among wide-ranging student feedback, taken from about 7000 open-ended survey answers completed by more than 1500 students, from five SA schools.

A second study, which came out a few weeks ago, was an emulated trial.

“This involved scientific evidence where we looked at the psychological consequences of putting mobile phone bans in schools here in SA, and we actually found a decrease in psychological distress and improvements in negative mood, essentially,” research fellow and clinical psychologist Dr Marcela Radunz, who co-authored both papers, says.

“Together, the two studies highlight that phone-free schools seem to provide students with a valuable ‘digital break’ that supports both mental health and learning,” she says.

The results showed a clear link between phone bans and reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression, while students also reported fewer negative effects tied to problematic phone use, such as fear of missing out, risky behaviour, and social comparison.

Radunz explains that it’s “always very interesting to see the responses adolescents provide - they’re extremely honest in their feedback, so it’s very entertaining to read”.

What was really a surprise, the academic shares, was their ability to perceive the benefits in terms of face-to-face social interaction.

Our research suggests a school phone ban is only one component of what should be a broader approach and a broader strategy to targeting phone use, digital technology use and adolescent mental health, Dr Marcela Radunz says.

“The students said the mobile phone ban has caused more interaction between friends and between students,” Radunz says.

“They said they’re noticing that their friends are more present when they’re at recess and lunch, friends are actually talking amongst themselves rather than being glued around their phones.”

Not being able to engage on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok was strongly highlighted by students as a positive.

“They then didn’t feel as left out because they felt like, ‘well, I’m not the only one, like now it’s not all my friends talking about this latest TikTok that I don’t feel part of; I can actually engage and interact better with my friends because that has been removed from the equation'.

“So very much lots of positives around social interactions.”

Students in the study talked about perceived positives, particularly in academic engagement. In class they said they were less distracted and more engaged in learning.

“They said teachers are not having to disrupt teaching and learning to tell students off for being on their phones,” Radunz says.

“So teachers are actually engaging more in class as well because they can actually do their jobs, which means that the students are engaging more.”

Many argue that mobile phones could have a place in education settings, and that skilfully harnessed, they could be powerful learning tools.

“In terms of the benefits of phone use as a whole, students did perceive benefits of phone use around autonomy and skill building,” Radunz acknowledges.

“So being able to have certain apps and the utility and convenience of having mobile phones in place.

“Also for a lot of students, they reported this social and emotional support, so having learned strategies to cope with distress and anxiety using their phones and then not being able to have their phones in school being a problem.”

But does that mean students should be allowed to have their phones in school or should the education system be upskilling young people to engage in strategies to cope with distress and autonomy and skill building that doesn’t involve having phones present?

“That’s a good question. It’s a bit of a catch-22,” Radunz says.

The eSafety Commissioner says for students’ phone use at home, careful monitoring and open communication is important, especially around the use of apps and access to online content that you may not want them to see.

Students describe their school as a happier, friendlier and safer environment since the ban. 

“We’ve seen this benefit around health and safety,” Radunz says.

Reduced screen time has led to more exercise, she says.

“Students are reporting they’re engaging in and playing more sport, they’re out in the yard, they’re getting sunshine, which means that then they’ve reported improved mood, and we’ve actually seen less cyberbullying and conflict around texting and all the cyberbullying that kind of goes on when you mix phones into school environments. So we’ve seen positives from that regard.”

Professor of Psychology Dan King, senior author of the studies, says while the positive impacts of the ban seems only marginal, they are potentially significant.

“Although improvements were modest, research is supporting the idea that even small reductions in psychological distress could have important public health implications if implemented at a large scale.”

Ultimately, Radunz says, phone bans should be a part of a broader strategy for digital tech use which has to extend beyond the school gate and into students’ homes.

“There are clearly tangible positives, but small effects, so it’s a good thing to implement mobile phone bans in schools, is what our research is saying, but this is only one component of what should be a broader approach and a broader strategy to targeting phone use, digital technology use and adolescent mental health.

“We need to combine it with digital literacy programs.

“We know that most phone use (before the bans) was not happening during school hours, but happening outside of school hours...

“I think that parents want support, they want that knowledge to be able to help parent children in today’s digital world, which is a tough gig.”

The first article, published online on February 19, 2025, and titled ‘Student perspectives on banning mobile phones in South Australian secondary schools: A large-scale qualitative analysis‘ can be accessed here.

The latest article, published on August 12, 2025, and titled ‘Psychological consequences of school mobile phone bans: Emulated trial of a natural experiment in South Australia‘ can be accessed here.