Evidence
Smartphones don't belong in schools. Built on the same persuasive-design principles that make slot machines and social media compulsive, they run counter to how children actually learn and connect.
They fragment the sustained, focused attention real learning requires, and crowd out face-to-face interactions with peers and teachers. A mounting body of research links their presence in schools to declining academic performance, weaker social development, and rising rates of anxiety, depression, and loneliness among children and teens.
What the research shows
15 points lower in math
Students distracted by classmates' digital devices scored 15 points lower in math.
OECD PISA, 2022 →Higher test scores after a full-day ban
In a large Florida district, a bell-to-bell phone ban raised test scores by the second year and reduced unexcused absences.
NBER, 2025 →Less bullying, better grades
Bans improved girls' GPA and reduced bullying for both genders.
Norway study →Earlier phones, higher health risks
In a study of more than 10,000 U.S. adolescents, owning a smartphone by age 12 was linked to higher risk of depression, obesity and insufficient sleep.
Pediatrics, 2025 →Distraction-free time to learn
The American Academy of Pediatrics says students deserve distraction-free time to learn in school.
AAP, 2026 →A phone of their own by age 8
One in four U.S. children have their own cellphone by age 8, and half of kids 8 and under have their own phone or tablet.
Common Sense Census, 2025 →Educators agree
In their words
"Many students do not have the impulse control to stop themselves from checking their phone during class time if the phone is within reach."
Jonathan Haidt, The Case for Phone-Free Schools →
"Students with access to devices during class perform more poorly on tests, primarily because phones are so distracting."
Jean M. Twenge, testimony to the U.S. House, 2025 →
"Our kids are less cognitively capable than we were at their age" — a shift he calls "unlike any we have previously documented."
Jared Cooney Horvath, testimony to the U.S. Senate →
Books
- The Anxious Generation
- The Digital Delusion
- Screen Schooled
- Kids' Brains & Screens
- The Miswired Child
- iGen
- Glow Kids
- More books →
Explore further
Deeper research collections maintained by national organizations.