From 365dc0f055880803b03359b431ec562053f6c8d6 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: maynardhampton Date: Sat, 11 Apr 2026 08:45:33 +0800 Subject: [PATCH] Update 'Has Banning Phones Improved Performance At Dutch Schools?' --- ...mproved-Performance-At-Dutch-Schools%3F.md | 35 +++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 35 insertions(+) create mode 100644 Has-Banning-Phones-Improved-Performance-At-Dutch-Schools%3F.md diff --git a/Has-Banning-Phones-Improved-Performance-At-Dutch-Schools%3F.md b/Has-Banning-Phones-Improved-Performance-At-Dutch-Schools%3F.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1067a8d --- /dev/null +++ b/Has-Banning-Phones-Improved-Performance-At-Dutch-Schools%3F.md @@ -0,0 +1,35 @@ +
Anna HolliganAmsterdam
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Two years ago, Dutch schools banned smartphones to lower diversions, improve student concentration, and motivate better scholastic efficiency. Since then, cellphones, smartwatches and tablets have actually been exiled from classrooms, corridors and canteens in schools across the Netherlands.
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Now the Dutch government wishes to go even more, [pushing](https://hackthehill.io/upggrazyna6006) to [restrict social](https://hipstrumentals.net/vetarig2807240) media for under-16s and calling for an [EU-wide](http://hairbymaryamaustin.com/?page_id=2) 15+ [age limitation](https://i10audio.com/lori2052160334) for apps like Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.
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At [Amsterdam's Cygnus](https://qingqiu.online/stevey55676137) Gymnasium school, a [fluorescent yellow](http://210.12.198.1413000/brittnymaur49/the-bet9ja-promo-code-2026-is-yohaig/wiki/The+Bet+9Ja+promo+code+this+2026+is+YOHAIG) sign on the school gates warns students streaming in on their bikes: "Attention: from this point on, your phone should be in your locker. Thank you."
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The [appealing](https://pklisting.com/author/angelaketner0/) (in Dutch at least) "Telefoon t'huis of in de kluis" (Phone at home or in the locker) - now applies nationwide.
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Instead of [passing](https://homenetwork.tv/@franhardman343?page=about) a law, the government selected a [nationwide arrangement](https://gratisafhalen.be/author/phoebe3292/) with schools, moms and dads and instructors, [arguing](https://bussistar.com/index.php?route=journal3/blog/post&journal_blog_post_id=9) this would protect buy-in and generate the guidelines rapidly without a prolonged legislative battle.
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In the school corridor, outside an English classroom [decorated](https://www.mlevitt.com/twentysix/) with art work [depicting numerous](https://www.cenedinatale.com/2014/06/09/standard-post/) Shakespeare plays, good friends Hanna and Fena confide they have mixed feelings about the restriction.
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"Since the restriction we have to keep an eye out for the teachers, so they don't take the phones," they state. "I think it's annoying however not like it's breaking our rights or something like that.
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"Maybe now we are a little bit more in the moment. In the break no one is really on their phones."
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Their teacher, Ida Peters, notices the distinction too. "As an instructor you're always attempting to get kids' attention. It's always a challenge to get that focus in class, and now their phones are less present, that certainly helps."
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Smartphones are not implied to be out in UK classrooms either, but without any national rules on where they need to be the rest of the day, schools and teachers are left to improvise.
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In the Netherlands, the nationwide arrangement means the onus is off the instructors. Ms Peters feels this Dutch technique has liberated personnel. "There's less friction in class management," she says.
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"In the hallways there utilized to be a great deal of examining the phone; now it's more unwinded, a calmer environment, not too anxious about anything else going on."
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Phones aren't permitted at breaks or school celebrations either, Ms Peters adds, so pupils do not worry that they might be photographed and put up on Snapchat or Instagram. "And when kids are more unwinded, their learning results enhance."
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Early data supports her impressions.
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A government-commissioned study of 317 secondary schools discovered that about three-quarters reported better concentration since phones were prohibited.
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Almost two-thirds said the social climate had actually improved, and around a third saw much better scholastic performance. Other studies suggest less bullying when devices are taken out of the school day.
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Fifteen-year-old Felix and Karel, in the basic uniform of large hoodies and denims, spend between 2 and 5 hours a day on social media.
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Karel keeps his phone charging next to his bed and checks messages as quickly as he wakes up; Felix waits up until after breakfast.
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"When I first heard the news, I believed, 'I wish to change schools since this isn't what I came here for,'" among them confesses. "But I have not truly felt a disadvantage of it. If it takes place in the UK, I think it will have a positive impact on the trainees."
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In the Netherlands, the dispute has actually already moved onto social media.
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The Dutch federal government formally recommends that children under 15 should stay off social media, and the new government union wants a Europe-wide, enforceable 15+ minimum age backed by age-verification. They argue that if states can restrict alcohol or gaming, they need to likewise act when platforms are developed to be addicting.
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The three parties in federal government hold just 66 of 150 seats in parliament, so they need assistance from others, and any binding rule on children accessing social networks would need to be negotiated at EU level. But public viewpoint appears to be moving in their favour.
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A Unicef study of more than 1,000 Dutch kids and teenagers discovered that 69% favoured a social networks ban for under-18s.
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In the very same survey, 28% said platforms need to be off-limits for under-12s entirely, arguing that more youthful children ought to "still be playing outside instead of on their phones" and explaining social media as addicting, unsafe and bad for their psychological health.
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A yearly social media study by research study company Newcom found that 60% of 16-to-28-year-olds back an age limit, up from 44% a year ago.
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This challenges the concept that young people are desperate to be permanently online.
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Former education minister Koen Becking points to "growing evidence" that heavy social media use is bad for psychological health and social interaction, saying Dutch data reveal children are more distracted and more anxious when they have access to gadgets.
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Back at Cygnus school, Karel states he would be "a little devastated" if a social networks ban was implemented.
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"I'm a bit addicted, I'm scrolling on TikTok as quickly as I awaken or checking messages from pals."
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But schoolmate Felix is more relaxed: "You 'd get used to it and discover other things to do, so I do not believe I would truly mind."
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At the exact same time, the Dutch Research Council is now examining the unexpected consequences of the smartphone ban, and whether being without a phone throughout the day increases fear of losing out and activates more intensive phone usage after school.
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The students all insist they are not bingeing more before and after school. But Felix confides that while numerous students still keep phones in their pockets - so long as instructors do not see - he believes keeping the screens out of sight has actually made them more present.
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"People are talking more, going to the shops instead of simply being in the cafeteria on their phones," he says. "We socialise more; social connections have actually enhanced."
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For Dutch children, scrolling on mobile phones is no longer a part of school life. The next concern for the Netherlands, and perhaps, quickly, for the UK, is whether access to the social media apps should be consigned to history too.
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