Many secondary schools in Spain ban mobiles.
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The British government has just ruled out imposing a ban on the use of mobile phones in schools, despite growing concern from parents and teachers.
Number 10 has shifted the responsibility to teachers, claiming they already have the authority to control mobile device use in classrooms and that it would not be practical for the state to step in.
Smartphone Free Childhood, a grassroots campaign which began in February 2024, already boasts 150,000 members, reflecting how concerned UK parents are. A recent survey revealed that the vast majority of UK children spend more than 7 hours a day on their devices, more hours than they are at school.
Mobile phone bans vary in Spain
Meanwhile, in Spain, mobile phone use in schools is much more controlled, but the rules vary between autonomous communities.
Castilla-La Mancha was one of the first to bring in an outright ban on phones in the classroom. In Galicia, they banned the use of phones altogether within the grounds of all schools from January 2024. In Madrid, phones and tablets are permitted, but only for educational purposes, while in Andalucía, kids are banned from using phones until 13 years old.
Since January 2024, Murcia has imposed a ban in both private and state schools against the use of mobile devices for anything other than educational purposes, while in the Valencian community, phones have been banned in classrooms since May 2024. And in the Balearics, the regional government is finalising a bill to ban the use of phones in all schools completely, which they hope will become law this year.
In other news, an ongoing lawsuit against TikTok revealed recently that it takes just 20 minutes to become emotionally addicted to the social network platform.
