ESRI: We need to look at banning phones in schools

Goverment-funded think tank also suggests putting age restriction on buying mobiles

THE ESRI think tank has said it is time to look at banning phones in primary schools.

In its largest every study of mobile phones in schools, it suggests introducing such a ban would help ‘weaker’ schools the most.

The ESRI also suggests that consideration be given to ‘age restrictions’ on buying mobile phones.

IT’S time to consider banning mobile phones in schools, the government-funded Economic and Social Research Institute has said.

The largest ever study of phones in Irish schools carried out by the think tank suggested a ban on smartphones in primary schools as a way to stop peer pressure, the Irish Daily Mail can reveal.

The full report, seen by this newspaper, suggests that phone bans in schools would help ‘weaker’ schools the most, as the ESRI found ‘concerning’ evidence that poorer children are much more likely to have smartphone. The findings strongly back up the Irish Daily Mail’s Protect Our Kids Online campaign, which has continued to raise concerns over the effects of smartphone use and unfettered internet access on children.

The ESRI study – ‘Later is better: Mobile phone ownership and child academic development’ – was funded by the Department of Communications and watchdog ComReg.

The ESRI also suggested that consideration be given to ‘age restriction’ on buying mobile phones. Further details revealed in the report shows that those who owned a phone at the age of nine had maths scores 6% lower than those who didn’t, and English scores 13.5% of a standard deviation lower at the age of nine.

It suggested the ban might ‘curtail’ the rise of the achievement gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged schools as children move into adolescence. Last week, Professor Selina McCoy from the ESRI told the Mail children having mobile phones at this young age have their learning abilities eroded as they suffer from sleep deprivation.

She added that the distraction of the devices is altering memory patterns. The research used data from 8,500 children in the Growing Up In Ireland study to examine the academic performance of children who owned a mobile phone at an earlier age.

Shockingly, as many as 40% of children owned a mobile phone by the age of nine, the ESRI report revealed.

Prof. McCoy said the report was the first of its kind in Ireland. She said: ‘You are comparing the characteristics of a child who had a mobile phone at nine with a child who doesn’t, with the exact same socio-economic background. We’re finding this net effect of mobile phone ownership with children of this age group is just not faring as well in both reading and maths domains. Distraction and altering memory patterns have been found to be issues...

‘The other big area is sleep deprivation and children at nine who have mobile phones. We suggest it might be having an effect which in turn is hampering their cognitive and learning development.’

The ESRI suggested sixth class is a more appropriate age to own a phone.

Last week, Education Minister Joe McHugh welcomed the publication of the ESRI report. The Department of Education has not yet responded to queries from this newspaper regarding the ESRI suggestion of a ban.

‘Might curb gap in achievement’ ‘Not faring as well in maths’