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South Korea has passed a Bill to ban the use of mobile phones and other digital devices in school classrooms as concern grows about the impact of heavy social media use among the young, according to news agency reports. The ban, which will take effect from March 2026, makes South Korea the latest country to restrict the use of smartphones and social media among minors after Australia.
South Korea is among the world’s most digitally connected countries, with 98% of its population owning a smartphone, according to the US-based Pew Research Center. “Our youth’s addiction to social media is at a serious level now,” said Cho Jung-hun, a lawmaker from the Opposition People Power Party and a sponsor of the Bill. “Our kids, their eyes are red every morning. They are on Instagram until 2 or 3 am,” Cho told Parliament.
“Such school bans work as has been proven by a Dutch study last month that had been tracking students for a year after school limits were imposed. It found that 70 per cent of students had improved their concentration levels and were engaging more with school activities,” says Urvashi Musale, Stanford-certified child and teen behavioural expert in Mumbai. “When institutions take such measures to create an awareness on device use that’s detrimental to young students, there is a change in mindset. We need to tell our kids that phones are not an anytime entertainment tool,” she adds.
Mobile phone overuse negatively impacts students by reducing their attention spans, causing sleep deficits, building addictive behaviour, leading to eye strain and poor posture and contributing to mental anxiety and stress arising out of the fear of missing out or not knowing enough in the peer group. Excessive use can also hinder academic performance and social skills. It breeds a culture of dependency where the child is hardly able to find his own personality but follows trends just to be relevant. At the same time, they have an increased risk window online of being exposed to cyberbullying.
Physically, this is the developmental phase of children where sleep and exercise are the most important components, both of which get affected by excessive mobile use. Prolonged screen time can lead to dry eyes and headaches. Most of them have postural problems and even neck and back pain. Sitting also exposes them to a sedentary lifestyle early on, a risk for chronic illnesses later in life.
Studies have shown that children who spend more than three hours a day on social media are twice as likely to experience mental health issues like depression and anxiety based on images of what they don’t have in their lives. Problematic smartphone use can lead to a fear of being without a phone, which is called nomophobia. I’ve students who come to me with emotional instability and rebellious, violent behaviour when denied a phone. A school policy decision helps to manage such scenarios better than home bans.
As children outsource most of their complex tasks to devices and AI learning tools, they are unable to develop critical thinking and independent problem-solving approaches. In psychology, we call the mind a muscle, so you have to work it and expand its possibilities to learn, imbibe, interpret and apply knowledge.
Phones can facilitate cheating by allowing easy access to information during tests or assignments. The distracted child cannot absorb physical lessons in class. The brain idles or dulls out this way.
A school ban is not a full-day ban, so it is not like blocking the internet or access to information and knowledge but limiting access to recreational platforms like Instagram and Facebook. That’s why we suggest diverting teens to a new interest simultaneously, usually involving physical pursuits like a hobby, rock climbing and community projects where the child is exposed to social interaction with peers. This replaces the need for an online chat.
Ongoing communication and guidance will help children avoid excessive use. For example, I tell parents to plan mental maths and memory games in the physical format where the entire family can participate and improve their cognitive skills. Create a family media use plan so that the child does not feel isolated or punished. Ban meal time and bedtime use. Set boundaries for accessing content and encourage conversations on the subjects they are scrolling. This will build mutual trust.
