Walk into any secondary school and you’ll see it: mobile phones in hands, buzzing during school hours, pulling young people into constant distraction. Phones aren’t just tools anymore — they’re lifelines, classrooms, social diaries, and sometimes, the biggest source of stress in a young person’s school day.

We often assume children can handle this because “mobile phones enable” quick communication and digital learning. But recent years of research show something different: mobile phone use is closely linked to mental health struggles, sleep problems, and stress that impacts children’s education.

Quick Cheat Sheet

• 1 in 5 older secondary school pupils report problematic phone use (King’s College London).
• Those pupils are twice as likely to have anxiety and three times as likely to experience depression.
• Sleep suffers most: late-night scrolling disrupts rest, focus, and academic performance.
• Girls are hit harder: WHO Europe found 13% show problematic social media use vs 9% of boys.
• Neurological compulsion: the dopamine hit from checking phones makes it almost impossible for a young person to stop.
• School leaders are debating bans: some countries have already introduced a smartphone ban to protect education and mental health.

For a deeper dive — keep reading…

The Use of Mobile Phones in Schools: Why It Matters Now

Most schools today rely on mobile phones in some way — to communicate information, share weekly notices, even as a research tool in class. In theory, mobile phones enable quick and easy access to resources, apps, and digital skills.

But the reality is more complex. A mobile phone policy that allows unrestricted phone use during the school day can have an adverse effect on focus and emotional health. Teachers see pupils distracted, parents worry about online bullying, and school leaders face pressure to balance education with safety information.

This tension — between phones as support vs. phones as stress — is why banning mobile phones, or at least restricting them, is a conversation happening in schools across the world.

What the Research Says: Mobile Phones and Mental Health

King’s College London Study

In 2024, King’s College London studied over 3,000 secondary school pupils. They found:

• 14.5% of 13–16 year olds and 18.7% of 16–18 year olds reported problematic smartphone use.
• Those with this pattern were twice as likely to develop anxiety and three times as likely to experience depression.
• Over 50% of 13–16 year olds with problematic use reported symptoms of mental illness.

This isn’t just screen time — it’s a neurological compulsion. Phones are designed to release dopamine with every notification, like, or message. It explains why children (and adults) can’t fight the urge to check. We’ve all been there: sitting on the sofa, opening Instagram for “just two minutes,” and only snapping out of a 30-minute doomscroll of overstimulation.

WHO and Global Data

The WHO Europe report (2024) showed that 11% of young people across Europe demonstrate problematic social media use. Girls were more affected (13% vs. 9% of boys). Nearly half of 15-year-old girls said they were in constant online contact during the same period.

A UK BMJ study following 4,000 children found that almost 1 in 3 secondary school pupils developed increasingly addictive patterns of mobile phone use, doubling their risk of suicidal behaviour.

Banning Mobile Phones: Do Phone Bans Reduce Stress?

Some school leaders argue that prohibiting mobile phones during school hours is necessary to protect mental health and children’s education. Research from the London School of Economics found that schools that introduced a phone ban saw academic performance rise by 6.4% on average, with the biggest gains for disadvantaged pupils.

Other countries have gone further. France introduced an outright ban on mobile phones in secondary schools in 2018. Similar smartphone bans have been trialled in parts of Australia and Italy, citing the need to improve focus, reduce online bullying, and create a safe space for learning.

Still, banning mobile phones completely has critics. Phones do support learning when used as a research tool, help young carers manage family commitments and medicine schedules, and keep children in regular contact with a family member for health and safety information.

This is why most schools now aim for balance: mobile phone policies that prohibit phone use during classroom hours and break times, while allowing exceptions for special educational needs or medical reasons.

Phones in Schools: How They Trigger Stress

1. Fight-or-flight on repeat
   Every ping activates the sympathetic nervous system, flooding the body with stress hormones. Secondary school pupils end up jittery and unable to focus on the lesson in front of them.
2. Neurological compulsion and dopamine hits
   Phones train the brain to crave micro-rewards. For a young person in school, that means constant checking, even when they know it has a negative impact on focus and emotional health.
3. Comparison and online bullying
   Students experience both positive impact (connection with friends) and negative impact (bullying, exclusion, insecurity). Over one in five young people in the UK have experienced online bullying (BBC News, 2024).
4. Sleep problems
   Late-night scrolling disrupts melatonin, leading to poor sleep quality, lower focus, and stress the next school day.

Moving Forward: Health, Education and Balance

For schools:

• Clear mobile phone policies protect both academic performance and wellbeing.
• Phone-free classrooms encourage creative thinking and reduce adverse effects of distraction.
• Safe spaces in schools where young people can use phones for family commitments or caring responsibilities (e.g. young carers, medicine schedules) balance safety with boundaries.

For parents and teachers:

• Set digital curfews at home to protect sleep and reduce stress.
• Model healthy phone use — young people copy what adults do, not what they say.
• Check-in conversations about mobile phone use and mental health can support children’s education without resorting to outright bans.

The Takeaway

Phones in schools aren’t going away. But how we use them matters. With thoughtful mobile phone policies, school leaders can reduce stress, protect mental health, and still support learning with digital skills and apps.

Because the real challenge isn’t just phones in pockets — it’s stress in bodies. And if we want healthier schools, we need to give young people tools to restore balance.

At CHILL, we believe in no pressure, no perfection — just progress that feels good. Stress Less. Live More.