Patrik Müller / ch media, watson.ch, 10 August 2024 - auto-translation
(Photo): The usual picture: Can it be changed with bans?symbolic image: Getty
The summer holidays are coming to an end, and on Monday classrooms in many cantons will be filled up again. Not everything is the same as before. Around 1,100 pupils at the Burghalde school in Baden AG are expecting a new rule. Smartphones are prohibited in the buildings. "The requirement that young people be able to regulate their mobile phone use independently was too high," the school administration explained the turnaround in a letter to parents.
The school administration is unusually open about its differences of opinion. They have been discussing sensible cell phone regulations for many years: "This led to two votes in the team, both of which ended in a tie." But now the mood has changed, and a restrictive regulation - "taking various studies into account" - found a majority.
It was not just scientific findings that tipped the scales, but also something much simpler: "The image of hundreds of students on their cell phones in the cafeteria or outside during the morning break, despite alternative options, gave cause for concern." One teacher put it more bluntly: "The sight has become unbearable, everyone is just staring at their devices."
Baden is not an isolated case. More and more schools are introducing restrictions. Mobile phone bans have so far only been common in primary schools. Upper secondary schools such as the Arbon TG secondary school, which has had a ban for many years, have so far been the exception. Since 2016, the school rules there, which must be signed by parents and students, have stated: "I refrain from using electronic devices of any kind (mobile phones, etc.) on all school premises and on the school bus."
The rules in Neuenhof AG are new. The school rules also include electronic watches: "Smartwatches must be turned off before entering the school buildings and stored out of sight."
Last rebellion of personal responsibility
Radical bans are the exception, however. Often a compromise is sought. Some schools, such as the Muttenz BL secondary school, have had good experiences with allowing devices during lunch breaks. The house rules there state: "I am allowed to use electronic devices between 12.15 and 1.15 p.m."
Similar regulations are now being implemented on a wide scale. In Frick AG, from Monday, there will be a "general ban on mobile phone use from 7:20 a.m. to 11:40 a.m. and from 1:20 p.m. to 4:50 p.m." A leaflet with details will soon be distributed to parents. They are responsible for their child's mobile phone use outside of the defined times, it says.
It is a last gasp of personal responsibility - but when it comes to mobile phones, it no longer seems to work.
A rethink has begun. In school management, in parents' councils and also in politics. Bans are no longer a question of left and right. In Solothurn, it is an SVP cantonal councillor who wants to enforce it, in Basel-Stadt a Green Liberal politician who is proposing a ban on mobile phones at the cantonal level: "Is the government council prepared to introduce a smartphone-free elementary school in the canton of Basel-Stadt?" is the question asked by Grand Councillor Sandra Bothe.
In her remarks, the cantonal parliamentarian refers to the American social psychologist Jonathan Haidt. Gone are the days when parliamentary motions were justified with "annoying ringtones" (Aargau, 2010). Now it is no longer about noise, but about the most important thing of all: the health of children.
A book shakes everyone awake
Jonathan Haidt's book entitled "Generation Angst" is a worldwide bestseller. In educational circles it is already considered required reading - and school administrators use it as a scientific basis for banning smartphones from schools.
Haidt uses a variety of scientific studies from America and Europe to show how bad the health and development of teenagers is, and he believes that the concept of personal responsibility has failed. Haidt, himself a father, calls for no smartphones until the child's 14th birthday and no social media until the child's 16th birthday. These are his five most important findings:
1. Increase in anxiety and depression: For many decades, the proportion of young people (12 to 17 year olds) reporting anxiety or even depression was stable. This changed from 2010 onwards (see graphic). The increase is enormous, especially among girls. In 2010, 12 percent said they had suffered from depression in the past twelve months, but by 2020 this figure had risen to a horrendous 30 percent. Haidt sees the emergence of smartphones at this very stage as the main reason.
2. Loss of sleep: The constant availability and use of smartphones, especially before going to bed, leads to a lack of sleep in many teenagers. This increases the risk of mental illness. Girls are particularly at risk. They use social media more intensively than boys.
3. Loneliness: Studies consistently say that young people have been feeling increasingly isolated since 2010. Digital communication takes up so much time that personal contact is neglected. The number of friendships in real life is decreasing and the amount of time spent together is falling rapidly. Free play outside and dealing with dangers in the real world - which are extremely important for brain development - are neglected.
4. Comparison mania: The first generation of smartphones - the iPhone was invented in 2007 - was relatively harmless, according to Haidt. It was only the explosion of apps and social media such as Tiktok, Snapchat or Instagram that led to health problems. Something decisive happened in 2010: the iPhone 4, the first smartphone with a high-quality front camera, came onto the market. The selfie culture on social platforms encourages constant comparisons with others, which often leads to reduced self-esteem. It impairs the search for identity during puberty - people are dissatisfied with themselves.
5. Concentration problems: The constant distraction of smartphones and the quick rewards of social media impair attention and the ability to concentrate. Teenagers can often only concentrate on a text for a few minutes before they need a new stimulus. This has an impact on learning and school performance.
Rarely has a book had such tangible consequences as "Generation Angst" - in school authorities and in politics. It is logical that this has drawn criticism. They complain that there is no scientific evidence to conclusively show that the increase in mentally ill young people is due to increased smartphone use. The NZZ recently quoted psychologist Chris Ferguson, who said: "Haidt is guided less by scientific thinking than by a strong moral intuition."
Is the smartphone really to blame?
Haidt anticipates this accusation in his book and asks in return: What other reasons could there be, if not the new dominance of the smartphone in the lives of young people, for the previously stable depression rate among teenagers to explode in 2010?
In any case, Haidt's thesis passes the plausibility test: observations by schools and parents correspond with the connection he describes. That is why his demands fall on fertile ground. The scientist explicitly advocates "cell phone-free schools". Compromise solutions such as those in Muttenz BL or Frick AG are not enough for him. Pupils should have to lock their smartphones in a box when they arrive at school, demands Haidt. Knowing that the addictive substance is always nearby, even if it is switched off, is not enough. The rule must be: out of sight, out of mind!
Upper secondary schools that do not yet have any restrictions are likely to come under pressure after the summer holidays. Parent councils are often the ones calling for stricter rules. One argument that is then heard is also plausible: instead of hundreds of parents fighting at home with their children about how they use their mobile phones during the day, a sovereign regulation that applies to everyone should reduce conflicts. Then there will no longer be parents who allow their children to do whatever they want, and those who make themselves unpopular and restrict their children's use during the day.
Conversely, schools that issued bans many years ago receive a lot of attention and go from being outsiders to role models. SRF and the Zurich "Tages-Anzeiger" reported on the Würenlos AG school and concluded: "This school is cell phone-free - and the teenagers are thrilled." (aargauerzeitung.ch)
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