"Students' Concentration Disrupted"... European Schools Increasingly Ban Smartphone Use on Campus

More European schools are banning the use of smartphones on campus.

On the 2nd (local time), Politico Europe reported that hundreds of French-speaking schools in Belgium plan to completely ban smartphones starting as early as the fall semester.

This follows the announcement by the education authorities in the French-speaking Walloon region to prohibit the use of smartphones by elementary and secondary school students on campus. There are growing concerns that excessive smartphone use disrupts students' concentration and leads to incidents of 'cyberbullying.'

The authorities initially planned to pilot the ban in some schools before expanding it, but many schools have voluntarily prohibited smartphone use.

Neighboring France has also decided to pilot a smartphone ban for students in 200 middle schools starting this new semester. Smartphones will be forcibly collected in separate lockers provided within the school upon arrival and returned at dismissal.

In the Netherlands, starting this year, elementary and special schools have banned not only smartphones but also tablet PCs and smartwatches, citing decreased student concentration and declining academic performance.