Perspective: The Phone Ban
An Interview with a Student in Dutch Public School
By Junie Aldrich
Since the announcement of the phone ban late last year, the general response has been quite negative. Many students feel that this new rule is unnecessary, unproductive, and in some cases, even unjust. Now that we are a few weeks into the phone ban, we have an idea of how our school has responded. However, we also wanted to explore what this rule looks like in other schools. To gain insight into this inquiry, I have conducted an interview with Spinoza Lyceum student, Lou van Leeuwen. Lou goes to a Dutch school where the phone ban has been loosely in effect since January 2024. Since the start of this school year, the ban has been in full effect. In this interview, she shares her experiences with the soon-to-be-implemented phone ban. Her responses offer a different - perhaps unlikely perspective on the situation. Below is the conducted interview, translated from Dutch.
Q: Which school do you go to?
A: I go to Spinoza Lyceum
Q: How long has the phone ban been in effect at your school?
A: Last year, phones were not allowed to be used during classes, but were still permitted during breaks. However, since this school year, the use of the phone has been completely forbidden.
Q: What is your personal opinion on the installation of the phone ban?
A: At first, I thought it was really annoying because I had to do everything on my tablet. So if I had to check my classes or any updates, I would have to take out my entire tablet instead of just being able to quickly check my phone. But in the long term, I actually think the ban has its advantages. During breaks, my friends are way more social than we used to be; everyone talks to each other, or we play games offline. Before, we all just sat next to each other scrolling on our phones and didn’t really talk to each other.
Q: Are there any changes you have noticed at your school after the installation of the ban?
A: There isn’t much change in the education style. Phones were never really essential for learning. The only difference is that when a teacher is absent, it is announced on a bulletin instead of an online announcement. Socially, there is a lot of change, though. In general, I notice that everyone is way more social and more interactive with each other. I’ve also noticed about myself that because I use my phone less in school, my screen time has been reduced, not only in school, but also outside of school. I spend way more time doing other things and even deleted TikTok off my phone. My friends, too, are not on their phones as much, which they’ve noticed too. There are still some people in my social circle who choose to scroll TikTok on their iPad while we all talk to each other, but that’s their choice, and personally, I am way happier when I don’t.
Q: What do people at your school think of the phone ban?
A: I haven’t talked to everyone about it, but my friends all agree it has decreased their screen time and made them less social. In general, I think everyone feels more positively about it than they expected.
Q: What’s the most annoying thing about that ban? And the best thing?
A: As I already mentioned, the most annoying thing is that when I need to quickly check things to do with school on the go, I have to open either my tablet or laptop, which can sometimes be impractical - but it's easily overcome. The best thing about the phone ban is really just that I get to spend better quality time with my friends and that, in general, I feel less reliant on my phone.
Q: Would you recommend the phone ban to other schools?
A: I don’t know if I would recommend it, but I will say it definitely makes people more social and has generally had a positive effect on my school. Initially, people were upset about the installation of the phone ban, but I think we all have realized that it’s actually not as bad as you would expect.
Reflecting on these responses, it seems the phone ban had a fresh impact on other schools. According to Lou, the phone ban has actually cultivated a more social, happier community despite the initial impracticality and the adjustment period. So far, our phone ban has certainly a big adjustment, and the circumstances of its sudden rollout were not ideal, especially given that phones have become part of our education system. However, Lou, a student who has been operating under the ban, suggests that the ultimate outcome could be positive despite our current feelings about it.
