Has Banning Phones Improved Performance At Dutch Schools?

Anna HolliganAmsterdam


Two years ago, Dutch schools banned smartphones to reduce distractions, boost student concentration, and encourage much better academic performance. Since then, mobile phones, smartwatches and tablets have been banished from classrooms, corridors and canteens in schools throughout the Netherlands.


Now the Dutch government wishes to go further, pressing to limit social media for under-16s and requiring an EU-wide 15+ age limitation 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 memorable (in Dutch at least) slogan - "Telefoon t'huis of in de kluis" (Phone in the house or in the locker) - now applies across the country.


Instead of passing a law, the government decided for a nationwide contract with schools, parents and instructors, arguing this would secure buy-in and bring in the rules rapidly without a prolonged legal fight.


In the school passage, outside an English class embellished with art work portraying various Shakespeare plays, buddies Hanna and Fena confide they have mixed feelings about the restriction.


"Since the restriction we need to watch out for the teachers, so they don't take the phones," they state. "I believe it's frustrating but not like it's breaching our rights or something like that.


"Maybe now we are a little bit more in the moment. In the break nobody is truly on their phones."


Their instructor, Ida Peters, notifications the difference too. "As an instructor you're always trying to get kids' attention. It's constantly a challenge to get that focus in class, and now their phones are less present, that certainly assists."


Smartphones are not suggested to be out in UK class either, but with no nationwide guidelines on where they ought to be the remainder of the day, schools and instructors are left to improvise.


In the Netherlands, the across the country contract indicates the onus is off the teachers. Ms Peters feels this Dutch approach has actually freed personnel. "There's less in class management," she states.


"In the corridors there utilized to be a lot of checking the phone; now it's more relaxed, a calmer environment, not too concerned about anything else going on."


Phones aren't permitted at breaks or school parties either, Ms Peters adds, so students do not fret that they might be photographed and set up on Snapchat or Instagram. "And when kids are more relaxed, their learning outcomes improve."


Early data backs up her impressions.


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


Almost two-thirds said the social climate had enhanced, and around a third saw better scholastic performance. Other studies suggest less bullying when gadgets are secured of the school day.


Fifteen-year-old Felix and Karel, in the basic uniform of extra-large hoodies and jeans, spend in between two and five hours a day on social media.


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


"When I first heard the news, I believed, 'I desire to switch schools since this isn't what I came here for,'" among them confesses. "But I have not actually felt a downside of it. If it occurs in the UK, I think it will have a favorable effect on the trainees."


In the Netherlands, the debate has actually already moved onto social networks.


The Dutch government officially encourages that children under 15 need to stay off social networks, and the new government union desires a Europe-wide, enforceable 15+ minimum age backed by age-verification. They argue that if states can restrict alcohol or gaming, they must likewise act when platforms are designed to be addictive.


The three celebrations in federal government hold only 66 of 150 seats in parliament, so they need assistance from others, and any binding rule on children accessing social media would have to be worked out at EU level. But popular opinion appears to be moving in their favour.


A Unicef study of more than 1,000 Dutch children and teens found that 69% favoured a social media restriction for under-18s.


In the exact same survey, 28% said platforms must be off-limits for under-12s completely, arguing that more youthful kids should "still be playing outside instead of on their phones" and explaining social networks as addictive, hazardous and bad for their mental health.


An annual social networks study by research study agency Newcom found that 60% of 16-to-28-year-olds back an age limit, up from 44% a year ago.


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


Former education minister Koen Becking points to "growing evidence" that heavy social networks usage is bad for psychological health and social interaction, stating Dutch information show children are more sidetracked and more nervous when they have access to gadgets.


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


"I'm a bit addicted, I'm scrolling on TikTok as quickly as I get up or checking messages from good friends."


But schoolmate Felix is more unwinded: "You 'd get used to it and find other things to do, so I do not think I would truly mind."


At the same time, the Dutch Research Council is now taking a look at the unexpected effects of the smart device ban, and whether lacking a phone all day increases fear of missing out on out and activates more extensive phone usage after school.


The students all insist they are not bingeing more before and after school. But Felix confides that while many trainees still keep phones in their pockets - so long as instructors 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 just sitting in the lunchroom on their phones," he says. "We socialise more; social connections have actually enhanced."


For Dutch kids, scrolling on mobile phones is no longer a part of school life. The next question for the Netherlands, and maybe, quickly, for the UK, is whether access to the social media apps need to be consigned to history too.