Banning mobile phones in schools does not straightforwardly lead to better academic performance of students. An analysis of data from 21 countries, including the Czech Republic, conducted by the IRTIS research team at the Faculty of Social Studies of Masaryk University, shows that although phone bans are associated with lower levels of student distraction, in several countries they are also linked to greater classroom disruption during lessons, which in turn is reflected in poorer student performance in mathematics.
In the Czech context, the research also focused on cyberbullying, symptoms of online addiction, and children’s mental well-being. However, results show that blanket bans are not directly related to these outcomes. Students in schools with phone bans report similar levels of experience with cyberbullying and similar signs of online addiction as students in schools without such bans. By contrast, children’s well-being is strongly related to active parental mediation – that is, when parents talk with their children about technology, take an interest in their online activities, and help them understand the risks.
The authors of the research report therefore recommend viewing regulation more as support for schools, which should be given the flexibility to adapt rules to local conditions. Rather than relying on simple blanket bans, school policies should focus on the instructional approach, classroom disruptions, and the development of students’ competencies, including digital skills and the ability to regulate their own technology use.
Data from the Czech wave of the EU Kids Online V survey (May–June 2025) also show that strict bans are most common at the primary level and become less common as children grow older. Approximately one-third of students in grades 3–9 report that mobile phones are banned at their school. Younger children are more likely to comply with the rules and agree with them than older students.
This report was created as part of the project DigiWELL: Research of Excellence on Digital Technologies and Wellbeing, funded by the Programme Johannes Amos Comenius under the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic, co-financed by the European Union (no. CZ.02.01.01/00/22_008/0004583). The report was authored by Libor Juhaňák, Ivan Černický, Marie Jaroň Bedrošová and David Šmahel.
Please cite as: Juhaňák, L., Černický, I., Jaroň Bedrošová, M., & Šmahel, D. (2026). Mobile phone bans in schools: Are they related to students’ knowledge, cyberbullying, and well-being? Brno: Masaryk university.
Children across Europe are embracing digital technology but are concerned about the risks that come with it, including online hate, privacy invasions and what future technology could mean for the planet and human autonomy.
Researchers from the Interdisciplinary Research Team on Internet and Society (IRTIS) at Masaryk University’s Faculty of Social Studies (FSS MU), together with experts from the Institute for Research and Education in Digital Technologies and Cybersecurity at Palacký University in Olomouc, have published an expert opinion on proposals for a blanket ban on social media for children under the age of 15 or 16. The document responds to the current public debate and offers a perspective based on the latest scientific findings across psychology, education, media studies, the prevention of risky behavior, and child safety in online environments.
