Schools around the globe have been struggling with moderating student phone use for as long as the technology became widely accessible. Yet a landmark study published today in Lancet Regional Health Europe reveals that even the strictest phone bans fail to improve students’ mental health, educational outcomes, or sleep patterns—shifting significant responsibility to parents to manage device usage beyond the school gates.

The first worldwide study of its kind, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), followed 1,227 students from 30 schools across England. Researchers found no meaningful differences in mental wellbeing, anxiety, depression, physical activity, sleep, or academic performance between students attending schools with strict phone bans and those with more permissive policies.

The Study’s Surprising Findings

The NIHR-funded study compared schools with restrictive phone policies (20 schools) against those with more permissive approaches (10 schools). Despite the bans, researchers found no meaningful differences in key areas:

• Mental wellbeing, anxiety, and depression levels
• Physical activity and sleep patterns
• Educational attainment in English and Maths
• Classroom behavior disruptions

While school bans did reduce phone use during school hours by approximately 40 minutes and social media use by 30 minutes, this reduction proved insignificant in the context of students’ overall usage patterns. The research revealed that students across all schools averaged between 4-6 hours of smartphone use daily, regardless of school policies.

“We did find a link between more time spent on phones and social media and worse outcomes,” said lead author Dr. Victoria Goodyear, Associate Professor at the University of Birmingham. “But we need to do more than focus on schools alone. Addressing phone use within and outside of school, across the whole day and week, is essential.”

The Critical Role of Parents

Dr. Victoria Goodyear, Associate Professor at the University of Birmingham and lead author of the study, emphasized the broader implications: “We did find a link between more time spent on phones and social media and worse outcomes… But we need to do more than focus on schools alone, and consider phone use within and outside of school, across a whole day and the whole week.”

This finding places renewed responsibility on parents to establish healthy digital boundaries at home. Professor Miranda Pallan, senior author of the paper, reinforced this conclusion: “Our study suggests that school policies are not the silver bullet for preventing the detrimental impacts of smartphone and social media use.”

The Path Forward

The study underscores that addressing youth phone addiction requires a coordinated approach between schools and families. While schools can provide structure during the day, parents ultimately control the 16+ waking hours outside school time when the majority of phone use occurs.

As educational institutions worldwide continue to grapple with evolving technology, this research suggests that the most effective interventions may begin at home, with parents setting the tone for healthy technology relationships that can last a lifetime.