Cellphone bans can help classroom learning Students will be more focused and creative without their phones They also will be more apt to learn better social skills THURSDAY, Aug. 29, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Classroom cellphone bans should help improve learning environments in schools, a child development expert says. Keeping the devices out of classrooms would help focus attention, improve problem-solving and -- by allowing kids to occasionally lapse into boredom -- spur creativity, says , a child and adolescent psychologist at UCLA Health.

“There are more harms associated with cellphone use in school than the benefits,” Piacentini, a father of three, said in a UCLA news release. As a new school year kicks in, school district officials across the United States are weighing cellphone restrictions, experts said. Nearly 84% of teens ages 16 to 19 have a cellphone, making the devices as ubiquitous as backpacks, highlighters and three-ring binders, according to the (NIH).

What’s more, , sometimes while in class, the NIH said. “We know that a lot of kids are spending time on their phone during class or during recess,” Piacentini said. Dividing attention between class and a smartphone can make it tough for students to concentrate or problem-solve, he noted.

Students who can’t concentrate “do not have the ability to take multiple perspectives or see problems from multiple approaches,” Piacentini said. Cellphones can also harm kids’ imagination and critical thinking.