The Global Fight Against Smartphones In School Gets A Big Boost — Finland Joins The Pack

by Claudia Morales and Alidad Vassigh

BOGOTÁ — Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva recently approved a law banning use of cellphones among pupils throughout the school day in public and private schools. Part of the law says the measure is intended to “safeguard the mental, physical and psychological health of children and teenagers.” The law also tasks schools with devising strategies to deal with mental health problems associated with use of the devices. In cases, they might be used but only for teaching purposes or to ease accessibility.

The move is interesting, as it followed extensive consultations with technology experts, psychologists, psychiatrists, teachers and politicians, parliamentarians and officials, and enjoys the backing of more than 80% of parents. Brazil’s Education Minister Eduardo Santana said “experiences worldwide have shown the harm in terms of attention deficit in classrooms due to cell-phone use,” but also harm done to “interpersonal socialization.”

Global impact of technology

Other countries have taken similar measures. They include the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Australia, Norway, China, Israel, Ghana, Rwanda and Uganda. In 2023, the UN’s cultural agency UNESCO published its Global education monitoring report: Technology in Education, A Tool On Whose Terms? in which it observed that certain technologies could aid learning in some contexts — but not if used in excess or inappropriately.

Finland is the latest country to join this group, having passed legislation this week that only allows phone use in class for healthcare or learning purposes. The changes will go into effect on August 1. It is an important milestone, because Finland consistently ranks near the top of the PISA global education rankings.

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