Commentary
By Paige MacPherson

According to a new poll, three in four Canadians—due to “misinformation,” “cyberbullying,” “explicit content,” “negative mental health impacts” and “addiction”—want to ban social media for kids under 16, following the lead of several other countries. But as elected officials and community leaders in several provinces and on Parliament Hill consider social media age limits, there are simpler ways to stamp out digital distractions in K-12 schools.

Every Canadian province restricts (to varying degrees) smartphones in K-12 schools. But in most cases, these policies lack strength and efficacy.

For example, in Nova Scotia smartphones are banned during the school day from pre-primary (junior kindergarten) to Grade Six. This is one of Canada’s strongest examples of a “bell-to-bell” smartphone ban that prioritizes learning and wellbeing during the entire school day including during socializing, playing and eating. But like in other provinces, Nova Scotia students in junior high and high school—when smartphones and social media are most common—are required only to keep their phones quiet and out of sight during the school day. This means they could be buzzing in their pockets almost constantly (one study found that a typical teenager receives 237 smartphone notifications per day).

Clearly, bell-to-bell smartphone bans make the most sense. And a research review from Carleton University found that school smartphone bans actually improve student academic performance and narrow the achievement gap between academically lower performers and higher performers. Students who struggle academically tend to be more vulnerable to digital distraction.

This simple policy change could add calm and focus to classrooms overnight. Commendably, the Quebec government has already followed the evidence and shifted from existing smartphone restrictions during classroom lessons to a full bell-to-bell ban. The Ontario government also strengthened its existing smartphone restrictions, but still allows smartphones in pockets or bags, and access to phones outside of class.

While smartphones offer almost no compelling educational use for kids, apart from accommodating some special learning needs, they’re not the only screen-based distraction in K-12 classrooms. Laptops and tablets, which are used in classrooms across Canada, also allow kids to access YouTube videos, gaming websites and other online content. And after that type of distraction, students need time to refocus to absorb something like a lesson in long division.

In response, a growing chorus of voices (backed by research) also want to free classrooms from any “ed tech” that has no compelling educational purpose. This primarily means ditching laptops and tablets—especially for elementary students—when pen and paper would work just as well.

Computers have some obvious educational purposes such as learning to research online, present data on spreadsheets, create slide presentations and perhaps use AI for adaptive learning. Additionally, some schools may try new approaches to incorporate technology. But when used for note-taking, math games or reading books, laptops and tablets can become an avenue to distraction while “analog” skills suffer.

As Canadians consider age restrictions for social media, policymakers should take the much simpler steps to remove digital distraction from K-12 classrooms, especially in grade levels before high school, and make school smartphone bans bell-to-bell for all ages.

Paige MacPherson is a Senior Fellow, Education Policy and former Associate Director, Education Policy for the Fraser Institute.