It’s early on a Friday morning and Alessia, Albert, Batrisyia, Emma and William, all middle school students at the International School of Billund (ISB) in Jutland are eagerly talking me through their school’s rules on mobile phones.
“The second it hits 7.55 am we have to go to these boxes – the school calls them phone hotels but a lot of us call it phone jail. You put your phone in your individual slot and that’s it. The staff lock it and you get your phone back at the end of the day,” Emma explains.
Soon, every school in Denmark will look like this, under the government’s new plans to introduce a legal ban on mobile phones in all folkeskoler (comprehensive primary and lower secondary schools for 7 to 16-17 year olds).
The government’s decision, announced last month, is a significant U-turn. It had previously stopped short of introducing legislation restricting or banning phones and social media use for young people of school age. Instead, the public health agency (Sundhedsstyrelsen) issued a set of recommendations for healthy screen use at different stages of childhood and young adulthood.
However, last month’s recommendation by the Danish Well-being Commission (Trivselskommissionens) that mobile phones be banned in schools has accelerated events. Whilst the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer this week rejected calls for a legal ban on phones in schools, calling it “completely unnecessary” and “a waste of time”, Dr Imran Rashid, a leading expert on young people and screen involved in devising the Sundhedstyrelsen recommendations, strongly disagrees. “It’s become clear that this is too crucial a matter to leave to individual schools,” he told Last Week in Denmark. This is no longer a debate over whether a ban is a good idea. A consistent approach to tackling the issues raised is needed, which means a change in the law.”
For Dr Rashid, one of the “most stark” findings of the Trivselskommissionens report is that 31% of girls aged between 13 and 17 show moderate or severe signs of social media addiction. “If this many young people were addicted to a substance, we would take immediate action as a society,” he told Last Week in Denmark. “Why would we not do the same with phones? We are fighting with social media platforms to get access to our children’s attention at the moment, and the reality is these platforms are destroying our kids.”
There has been growing concern in many countries about the influence of mobile phones and the online platforms young people view on them and the Danish government’s decision to introduce a legal ban comes at a particularly heated time. Like millions over the past few weeks, Dr Rashid has been watching the UK Netflix drama Adolescence, which depicts a 13-year old boy accused of murdering a female classmate. The drama explores how misogynistic content by social media extremists such as Andrew Tate may have influenced the boy’s actions. Rashid describes the show as “One of the harshest, saddest and most important depictions of what happens when we let the internet educate our children and youth.”
Simultaneously, in real life, millions of us are watching in horror as tech giants Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos align themselves with Donald Trump’s regime in the US. “Technology isn’t synonymous with progression any more,” says Dr Rashid. “People are starting to get a very bitter taste in their mouths seeing the situation in the US, or TikTok influencing the recent election in Romania. The tech giants have an ideological interest in destabilising Europe, and the power they wield starts with the device sitting in the pockets of our children.”
At the International School of Billund, the ban on phones was rooted in similar concerns about where young people’s attention is, and should be, focused. “We had a simple wish for presence,” says Head of School Camilla Uhre Fog. “Our priority is learning – socially and academically – and that requires presence and focus from all parties. A buzzing phone, even in a pocket or bag, makes it difficult to focus. We also wished to strengthen the sense of community between our students by simply making room for eye contact and social interaction.”
But what about concerns voiced by some Danish school principals about parents challenging them or fears of possible violation of students’ individual rights? Uhre Fog has no doubts that ISB’s approach is the right one: “ I believe it is important for students to understand when a matter is up for discussion and when it is not. We can talk about it, we can disagree – and agree to disagree – but some rules are very simple and not for negotiation. This is one of them.”
ISB advised students and parents of the ban in December 2023. “They gave us a month to say goodbye to how life was before”, says Emma. Not all students immediately saw the benefits. “At first many people didn’t like it so they’d sneak their phone out of the box where we had to put them or they’d claim they didn’t have it with them,” says Batrisyia. “But over time we got used to it and I think we don’t really feel the difference any more.”
There is a sense of fairness amongst the students: “If you’re present and your phone’s not in the box, [staff] will come to you and ask where it is,” says William.
“It could be unfair before the phone ban. It depended on the teacher and how strict they were, or whether they caught you in the first place,” Emma adds. “Yeah, it’s nice that we have one set consequence now,” Batrisyia says.
If students are found with a phone during the school day, it is passed to Uhre Fog as Head of School and parents are contacted to come and collect it. “Interestingly, while we always aim to resolve this on the same day, parents often find that the following day works better for them!” Uhre Fog says. “Fortunately, such situations have been rare, as students have adjusted well to the new routine.”
As Head of School, Uhre Fog feels very happy with how the phone ban is working day to day. “We definitely experience the positive impact we hoped for every day, now that phones are out of pockets and classrooms,” she says. “There is more concentration during classes and more focus.”
Elsebeth Thomsen, lead for Well-being in the middle school, agrees: “Concentration span is narrowed with phones. By removing them, we’re teaching our students not to be constantly hooked on that quick flow and short-term gratification that’s created through scrolling and watching short reels. They’re learning that some things do take longer but also to relax into that.”
The school has found the phone ban has also had a range of benefits for student well-being. “Some of our students choose to just leave their phone at home, which surprised me,” Thomsen says. “But I think we’re teaching them that they’re able to survive without constantly checking their phone. They learn nothing bad is going to happen if they don’t look at it for six or seven hours. It’s an important life lesson.”
But what about anxiety from parents used to being able to speak to their child instantly via mobile phone? “We find students not having phones actually helps”, says Elsebeth Thomsen. “Things don’t blow out of proportion. Our students are more likely to come and talk to staff rather than instantly contacting their parents on their phone. We can deal with the situation in the moment and then they can move on.”
Uhre Fog says the school hasn’t met challenge from parents about their approach. “We got quite a lot of positive feedback from them,” she says. The students back this up: both Batrisyia and Emma say their parents are “very happy about it”.
The absence of phones has also had a positive impact at social times. “During the breaks our students interact with each other, they talk, they play, they hang out,” Uhre Fog says. Thomsen thinks this is helping students in several ways: “Because our students don’t have access to their phones during breaks, they choose to go into the gym or outside and do something physically active, which sends more oxygen to their brains, which improves their concentration in classes afterwards. Some students would be physically active anyway but there’s quite a large group here who wouldn’t have been.”
Thomsen also believes the phone ban helps students with their communication and relationship-building: “You have to go to people and talk to them ‘live’, instead of sending a text. A lot of our young people today aren’t equipped to interact physically with other people. With online messages you can always erase a draft and try again. When you communicate face to face with a person, it’s much harder. But over time, young people become better at reading each other’s body language and understanding the impact of the words they say to each other.”
The students agree with this. “Conflict between students could be caused by phones. Taking them away has helped lessen that,” says Emma. “And many people were huddled up in bathrooms at break times with phones. Not having them helped with getting us outside. So I think in general phones not being here is honestly a benefit.”
Elsebeth Thomsen says she sees students interacting far more together since the phone ban: “If you always have this shield – your phone – that you can hide behind, you’re less likely to go out of your comfort zone, for example by asking if you can participate in a game. You notice each other more and are more aware of being part of a community. We all thrive better if we’re part of a community, and then we’re more able to learn.”
ISB student Albert agrees: “On field trips where we’ve met other schools, those students will be on their phones constantly, whereas we’re not allowed to do that so we’ll be talking to each other.”
So what would ISB students say to Danish schools introducing mobile phone bans for the first time? Emma says, “I don’t think schools should do it in a sudden way. We were warmed up to it here. It really depends too on what the school’s approach to phones was before. Our school’s never really been lenient with it. If we were caught on our phones during the school day before, it was usually confiscated or you were told to put it away. But in many other schools they rely on phones so much that the second the ban comes in, students are going to protest and complain.”
Batrisyia supports the phone ban but still believes technology can be a good thing when used in the right ways: “We’re a generation that’s very technology based so I don’t think the answer is to erase it completely. Technology has been a big part of the evolution of society in general, but there are definitely some things that can be improved.”
“We still use screens in classes, for example laptops and iPads,” says Alessia, “So you can easily find another way to get distracted if that’s the kind of person you are and the school isn’t alert to that!” The students all believe schools need to clearly explain to students why phones are being taken away, give them time to adjust and, importantly, have the right systems so students don’t just lose themselves in another type of technology.”
“It has to be values-based,” Dr Imran Rashid agrees. “Schools have to focus on what is important, then cultural norms will arise from that. Then after that, the right structural frameworks have to be in place to support the ban but students and parents, and staff, have to understand the benefits of removing phones in the first place.”
Elsebeth Thomsen is clear on the main benefit she has seen from a well-being perspective: “Our young people see each other and being seen is so important. If you’re behind your phone you might believe you are “liked” but in reality that takes constant work from you – posting and replying to content, for example. And it’s not a genuine connection. Coming to school and having someone look you in the eye and ask you with genuine interest how your basketball game went last night feels really different. And it doesn’t take as much effort either!”
What do our readers think about the proposed ban?
Iryna (Lolland, Zealand)
Iryna, from the island of Lolland, has a 15-year old daughter at folkeskole. The family moved here from Ukraine in 2022. Her daughter’s school introduced a ban on mobile phones recently.
“At first I was a bit apprehensive about not having direct contact with my daughter during the day,” she says. “But we got used to it and it actually wasn’t scary at all.”
Iryna strongly supports the ban on phones, having seen the difference it has had on her daughter’s relationships with peers. “It’s really helped her make friends,” she says. “Young people notice now if anyone is alone at break times and they’ll go up and talk to them. My daughter chats to other students on the bus now, which never happened before. Everyone would have been looking at their phone. I honestly don’t see any negative effects at all from the ban.”
Maja (Copenhagen)
Maja’s 13-year old daughter attends an international school in Copenhagen. The family are originally from Poland. Her daughter’s school currently asks students to hand in phones each morning to be stored centrally and collected at the end of the school day. However, she and her daughter have concerns over the consistency of the school’s approach and security of their phones once handed in. Maja supports the proposed legal ban. “I honestly can’t wait for the ban to come in,” she says. “I think it will definitely create a healthier environment for students to learn, focus and connect with each other during school hours. The influence of smartphones on the nervous system is huge: even if we’re not looking at it, just having it there can put them in a state of alert. For young people, having a significant part of each day phone-free by law seems like the best way forward.”
Maja and her daughter have recently agreed limits on phone use at home and seen benefits from this: “She’s told me she’s much less anxious because she’s not spending all evening scrolling or being drawn into intense messaging with her peers. She even told me she thinks it would be better if smartphones didn’t exist because it would solve a lot of problems.”
Read the Well-Being Commission’s full report here: 250224-trivselskommissionens-afrapportering.pdf
