Ireland: Growing up without your own smartphone

This article includes a discussion of smartphone bans in primary and secondary schools in Europe.

Mobile phone ban in Ireland - Growing up without your own smartphone
by Michael Gerber, srf,ch, 22 Dec. 2024 - auto-translation

Children should be allowed to be children again – spared from social media and cyberbullying. This is what many parents and schools in Ireland want, who have agreed to ban smartphones.

(Photo): Rachel (left) and her sister Jane snack on homemade strawberry cake. RTS

It's afternoon snack time for 10-year-old Jane and her 8-year-old sister Rachel. The two girls have baked a strawberry cake, which their mother Christina Capatina cuts into pieces and distributes.

Rachel and Jane could score points on Instagram and other social media with their strawberry cake. But the girls don't have smartphones to post pictures of it. "Other children find it hard. I can live well without a smartphone," says Rachel. "The whole world doesn't need to see this strawberry cake."

Voluntary renunciation is becoming more common

Rachel and Jane grew up in Greystones, about 20 kilometers south of the Irish capital Dublin. In Greystones, practically all children their age no longer have their own smartphones since the heads of several primary schools suggested to parents a year and a half ago that they should not buy their children their own smartphones before their 12th birthday.

Children should play or chat with each other during recess and after school instead of staring at their phones and scrolling through social media.

A clear majority of parents immediately agreed, including Christina Capatina. "Up until this point, the children had a strong means of pressure. They said: 'Mom, all our friends have smartphones. We are the only ones without them.'"

Smartphone-free childhood

Headteacher Rachel Harper of St Patrick's National School had the idea of ​​waiving the requirement. She convinced parents at her school as well as those at seven other primary schools in the area of ​​her plan. "Many were initially afraid of being seen as patronizing parents. But now 96 percent of parents have signed the waiver pact. That's fantastic."

Harper emphasises that schools are not trying to turn back the clock: "At the same time, we are preparing primary school pupils to receive their own smartphone when they move on to secondary school - so that they then know how to behave on social media."

Restrictions in secondary school

Ireland's Education Minister Norma Foley also thinks the voluntary waiver is a "great idea". She wants to expand the Greystones model to the whole country. "Everything indicates that children learn better and behave more socially when they put their smartphones away. This strengthens their relationships and improves their learning environment in schools."

Foley is also trying to ban smartphones from secondary schools: Students must put their smartphones in specially provided lockers when they arrive at school and are only allowed to take them out again before leaving school. The education minister wants the smartphones to remain locked away during recess and at lunchtime.

Parents' smartphones lure

Children in Ireland do not grow up without electronic devices. Rachel and Jane, for example, are allowed to use their tablet for two hours a day. Or, in exceptional cases, one of their parents' smartphones.

Her mother says quite openly: "Giving up smartphones is not a miracle cure. There are still discussions about screen time." Jane and Rachel will have to wait a few more years before they get their own smartphones.

What applies in other European countries

Ireland is a special case with its waiver agreement between parents and schools. Most other European countries have smartphone bans in primary and sometimes secondary schools.

In Italy, smartphones have never been tolerated in schools: the Italian authorities banned students from bringing smartphones to school in 2007, as soon as the first smartphone - Apple's iPhone - was available. But the ban was not always strictly enforced, as Euronews writes.

In Albania, smartphones were also banned from schools several years ago. In Spain, this happened at the beginning of 2024.

Greece, France and Hungary followed suit in late summer 2024. The Netherlands has gone one step further and has also banned smartwatches, tablets and other electronic devices from classrooms at the start of the school year.

Finland and Belgium are also currently considering a nationwide ban or restrictions. In the United Kingdom, parliamentary initiatives are being discussed that aim to achieve a nationwide ban.

The following countries are pursuing a decentralized approach: In Germany, Poland, Denmark, Portugal, Croatia, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, schools and school authorities can autonomously restrict smartphone use.

UNESCO recommends banning smartphones in schools

The UN Educational, Scientific, Cultural and Communication Organization recommends banning smartphones from schools. They distract from lessons and hinder learning. UNESCO recommends that new technologies should only be used in schools if they can be proven to be beneficial for learning.

Original article in German:
https://www.srf.ch/news/international/handy-verzicht-in-irland-aufwachsen-ohne-eigenes-smartphone