In Italy it arrives it official stop to the use of mobile phones even in High schools: after having forbidden the smartphone in elementary and middle schools, the Minister of Education and merit Giuseppe Valditara has recently spread a new circular for extend the ban, starting next September, also to the students of the secondary schools second degree. Smartphones will be prohibited during didactic activities and, more generally, during school hours, with penalties provided for those who violate the ban.
The measure, defined as “impractical” by Minister Valditara, aims to reduce the potential negative effects on minors deriving from excessive or incorrect use of the smartphone. In particular, the ministerial decision comes after several international organizations, including The OECD (Organization for cooperation and economic development) e the WHO (World Health Organization) have reported one possible correlation betweenExcessive use of smartphones and social media by teenagers and theirs worse school performancewith negative consequences that also impact their mental health. According to these studies, in particular, to abuse more than social media is the age group of 13 years, with the11% of total teenagers who demonstrate incorrect use of smartphones.
Italy, however, is not the only one Village To have intervened in this sense: France, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic have already adopted a series of measures for limit the use of cell phones in schools, while Australia he even has forbidden the use of social media to minors of 16 yearswith a historic law approved in November 2024.
The OECD report: the effects of smartphones on school performance
The first study taken as a reference by the Ministry of Education is the report “From decline to revival: polycies to unlock human capital and productivityY », within which The OECD highlighted one possible connection between the use of smartphones in schools and a worsening general of school returns in the 38 States that are part of the organization (including Italy).
In general, the organization has attributed the decline in school services in the last 15 years a three main factors: the changes of educational policiesthe impact of the pandemic from COVID-19 on learning e use incorrect of digital devices by adolescents.
Specifically, it has been reported how excessive use of smartphones can cause negative effects on thinking of the youngest, increasingly used to internet research and therefore less spurred on to develop their own critical thinking or skills of Problem-solving. The abuse of social media, then, would have a negative impact on the sleepon the attention level and on interpersonal relationships of today’s teenagers.
According to the study, then, the excessive use of mobile phones would be closely connected to the worsening mental health Among teenagers, constantly exposed to explicit or inappropriate content on social media which, over time, can lead to developing anxiety And depression.
The WHO report: the data on the use of social media
In his report «A Focus on Teenascent Social Media Use and Gaming in Europe, Central Asia and Canada», TheWorld Health Organization He highlighted how, in recent years, a problematic use of social media is increasingly widespread among teenagers: all this promotes the spread of dependence phenomenawith the inability to control or reduce the hours of use of devices and the development of real abstinence symptoms from technology.
In particular, from the study it emerged that:
- 44% of today’s teenagers are active on social media: 32% of them use them daily in an intense way, while they‘11% developed a problematic use.
- The incorrect use of social media was particularly widespread among the boys 13 years.
- Compared to the 2017/2018 analysis, the number of teenagers who use social media problematic He went up to Ben 4 percentage points, passing from 7% to 11%.
The WHO therefore recommended the development of policies and programs in favor ofdigital educationwith the aim of providing teenagers with adequate tools to balance their lives online and offline.
The other countries where the smartphone is prohibited in schools
Italy, however, is not the only country to have introduced a legislation that limits or forbids The use of smartphones within schools is completely use. In Europe, France, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic have also moved on the same direction. The Francein particular, started an experiment in 2024, coming to prohibit The smartphone in 200 middle schools: in the meantime, the government is also discussing the possibility of prohibitnationally, the use of social media in the under 16 years of age.
In Spain and Czech Republic, however, cell phones are prohibited only in anyspecific institutes or regionswhile in Sweden smartphones are prohibited in the elementary schools. The British authorities, on the contrary, have directly entrusted to school managers iThe task of establishing times and methods to limit the use of smartphones in schools.
Outside Europe, the most striking case is instead represented by theAustralia Where, in November 2024, Parliament approved a historic law that forbid to teenagers minors of 16 years to use i social media: the authorities have foreseen a year for the entry of vigor of the provision, which will also involve companies such as Meta or X, which will therefore have to introduce efficient systems to the platforms for the age verification.
