Though it is common practice in South Korea for students to be prohibited from using their cell phones during classes, this is currently a matter of classroom policy rather than law. The debate over a legal ban on student mobile phone use in classrooms has been controversial in Korea. Advocates of a ban note that smartphone use in classes carries educational and social risks, while opponents of such bans consider them to be human rights violations. On Oct. 7, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea stated that banning student smartphone use during school hours does not constitute a human rights violation.

France, Belgium, Spain, and England have each implemented classroom bans on smartphones, policies that appear to have led to improved learning outcomes. Banning is even more common in Asia. In my country, Myanmar, smartphone use in schools is heavily restricted. Students are not allowed to bring their smartphones to school. Instead, technological resources such as library computers are provided for educational purposes.

Smartphone use in classrooms has both benefits and drawbacks, so we must pay attention to the ways these devices are used in education. While educational apps can enhance learning experiences, many students find themselves struggling with distractions. Temptations to use phones for non-educational purposes, such as social media or gaming, can lead to decreased engagement during lessons. Even just having a mobile phone nearby with notifications coming through can disrupt a student’s concentration, resulting in a loss of focus on the task at hand. In fact, studies suggest that it can take students up to 23 minutes for a student to regain focus on what they were learning after being distracted.

Technology can indeed support education, but not when it is overused or misused. Therefore, schools should implement policies that allow smartphone use during school hours only when it clearly supports learning, particularly for students with disabilities or special educational needs. Only technology that has a defined role in enhancing students’ learning should be permitted in schools.

By Zuly Moe, Freshman, Faculty of Business Administration