Nearly 43% of South Korean teens struggle with smartphone dependence, prompting a landmark classroom ban In an age when digital addiction has emerged to be a global menace, cutting across generations and causing massive loss of productivity, a bill passed by South Korea last Wednesday banning the use of mobile phones and smart devices during class hours in schools could be described as an attempt to claw back lost ground. The law, which comes into effect from the next school year in March 2026, is the result of a bi-partisan effort to curb smartphone addiction, as more research points to its harmful effects.
Most South Korean schools have already implemented some form of a smartphone ban. Some countries like Finland and France have banned phones on a smaller scale, applying the restriction only to schools for younger children. Others like Italy, the Netherlands and China have restricted phone use in all schools. But South Korea is among the few to enshrine such a ban in law.
It's not just children though. Nearly a quarter of the country's 51mn people depend on their phones too much, according to a 2024 government survey. But that figure more than doubles - to 43% - for those between the ages of 10 and 19. And it has been rising over the years. More than a third of teens also say they struggle to control the amount of time they spend scrolling through videos on social media. Parents fear this is getting in the way of everything else they could be doing with their time. This concern can find echoes across the world.
Cho Jung-hun, an MP from the opposition People Power Party who introduced the bill, says he was encouraged to act as other countries made similar moves. He says there is "significant scientific and medical proof" that smartphone addiction has "extremely harmful effects on students' brain development and emotional growth".
Although it only bans phone use during class hours, the law gives teachers the power to stop students from using their phones on school premises. It also asks schools to educate students about the proper use of smart devices. There are some exemptions. The bill allows students with disabilities or special educational needs to use assistive devices, and permits use for educational purposes or during emergencies.
Bans on smartphones in Dutch schools have improved the learning environment despite initial protests, according to a study commissioned by the government of the Netherlands. National guidelines, introduced in January 2024, recommend banning smartphones from classrooms and almost all schools have complied. Close to two-thirds of secondary schools ask pupils to leave their phones at home or put them in lockers, while phones are given in at the start of a lesson at one in five.
In the US, parent-led movements to limit children's use of smartphones, social media and the internet have sprung up over the recent years. For example, the Phone-Free Schools Movement in Pennsylvania was launched in 2023, and Mothers Against Media Addiction started in New York in March 2024. These organisations, which empower parents to advocate in their local communities, follow in the footsteps of organisations such as Wait Until 8th in Texas and Screen Time Action Network at Fairplay in Massachusetts, which were formed in 2017.
The concerns of these parent-led organisations were reflected in the best-selling book The Anxious Generation, which paints a bleak picture of modern childhood as dominated by depression and anxiety brought on by smartphone addiction. Phone-free schools are one of the four actions the book's author, Jonathan Haidt, recommended to change course. The other three are no smartphones for children before high school, waiting until 16 for social media access, and allowing more childhood independence in the real world.
Some research has suggested that when children have access to a smartphone, even if they do not use it, they find it harder to focus in class. Initial research has found that academic performance improves after the bans go into effect.