The Consequences of Mobile Phone Restrictions in Schools

• In Event: Mental Health in Context: Education, Healthcare, and End-of-Life Policy

Abstract

In recent years, school districts and jurisdictions across the U.S. and abroad are restricting students’ access to mobile phones. Despite the policy momentum, a limited set of studies on the causal impact of school phone bans show mixed evidence on students’ well-being. We examine the effect of phone restrictions using Chilean administrative data, which are linked to student and teacher surveys that periodically include questions on mobile phone policies and use. This enables an assessment of whether phone restrictions successfully curb student phone use and the impact of these restrictions across a range of contexts. We show that students’ phone use in response to classroom phone policies varies across individual and school attributes. While we do not observe effects on test scores, students in some instances rate their own academic capability lower in response to phone restrictions. Aggregate effects also obscure heterogeneity, underscoring the importance of local context in the design of mobile phone policies.

Authors

• Ying Shi, Syracuse University
  Non-Presenting Co-Author

• Francisco Villarroel, Syracuse University
  Presenting Author