Over half of countries ban phones in schools: UNESCO
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New Delhi: More than half of the world’s countries have introduced bans on mobile phones in schools, driven by growing concerns over declining classroom attention, cyberbullying, and the wider impact of digital environments on children, according to UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring (GEM) team.
The report states that 114 education systems now enforce a national ban on mobile phones in schools, accounting for 58 per cent of countries worldwide. This marks a sharp rise from less than one in four countries (24 per cent) in June 2023, increasing to 40 per cent by early 2025, and nearing a 20 percentage point jump by March 2026.
A senior GEM official noted that the rapid expansion reflects mounting global concerns but added that the overall approach remains nuanced rather than a uniform shift towards outright prohibition.
The report also highlights the adverse effects of social media on children, particularly girls. It found that girls are twice as likely as boys to suffer from eating disorders worsened by social media exposure. Internal research by Facebook revealed that 32 per cent of teenage girls felt worse about their bodies after using Instagram.
Further, the report flagged troubling patterns linked to TikTok’s algorithm, which reportedly targets teenagers with body image-related content every 39 seconds and promotes eating disorder-related content every eight minutes.
Several countries have introduced national bans since late 2025, including Bolivia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Georgia, the Maldives, and Malta, continuing the upward trend.
France remains a key example where the policy debate is evolving. It was among the early adopters of mobile phone bans in schools, prohibiting their use in primary and lower secondary education. A legislative proposal is now under consideration in the French Parliament to introduce more detailed regulations on smartphone use in schools.
According to the report, many bans apply during school hours or within classrooms, with some systems allowing limited use for educational purposes or for specific groups, such as students with disabilities or illnesses. In other cases, students are required to keep phones switched off and stored away.
However, not all countries have opted for strict bans. Some have adopted national regulations requiring schools to frame their own policies restricting phone use without imposing a blanket prohibition. Countries such as Comoros, Colombia, Estonia, Lithuania, Iceland, Peru, Indonesia, Serbia, Poland, and the Philippines follow this approach, reflecting a shift towards giving schools greater autonomy while still regulating usage.
In decentralised education systems, restrictions are often introduced at regional or local levels before expanding nationally. In the United States, for instance, there is no nationwide ban, but 39 states have implemented restrictions or policies requiring school districts to regulate phone use in classrooms. Many other states have also introduced legislative proposals on the issue.
The report emphasises that emotional well-being is essential for academic success, with the impact of social media being particularly significant among girls. Increased social media interaction at the age of 10 has been linked to worsening socio-emotional difficulties over time—a trend not observed among boys.
In response, several countries, including Australia, France, Portugal, and Spain, have implemented or are considering restrictions on children’s social media use. Similar discussions are ongoing in Denmark, the Czech Republic, and Indonesia.
With PTI inputs