On paper, at least, Ontario has strict rules in place that are supposed to limit the use of cellphones in classrooms.
Students in Kindergarten to Grade 6 must keep their phones on silent and out of sight throughout the day, while older students (Grades 7 to 12) are required to put their phones away during class unless the teacher grants them specific permission to use it.
Are these rules actually working? We asked Katherine Martinko, a leading expert on kids and screen time and author of Childhood Unplugged: Practical Advice to Get Kids Off Screens and Find Balance.
“I do not think that you can call something a ‘ban’ if kids are still allowed to carry it on their person,” Martinko said, during a recent interview on Village Media’s Closer Look podcast. “It seems a little bit insipid and a bit feeble, and certainly now that it's been in place for over a year, that is quite evident. I hear anecdotally from my own kids, and I hear from friends who are teachers, and of course, I've read many articles that talk about how it has been rolled out. Generally, it's ineffective.
“Kids can still excuse themselves from class, they can go to the bathroom, they can spend a lot of time on their phones,” she continued. “You know, they're all Snapping, they're Instagramming, their Tiktoking, and they're doing it all in class. So really it is worthless. The only meaningful form of a ban is one that physically separates children from their devices for the duration of the school day.”
You can watch the full interview HERE.
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