It’s difficult in this day and age to imagine a world without phones. We use them for absolutely everything, from mindless scrolling to ordering food, as well as work and online banking. Many of our everyday tasks would not be possible without them. However, there are numerous debates around the cons that come with phones, especially for young people and how this impacts their mental health.
A new blanket ban on phones will be introduced to primary schools in Edinburgh from November in a bid to improve the well-being of pupils. The change comes after phone bans were successfully piloted in two Edinburgh high schools to help students focus on their studies and face-to-face interaction. Phones have been proven to be linked to worse mental health, lower grades, and more disruptive behaviour, according to a study by the University of Birmingham. With such compelling evidence of what damage our phones can do to us, it’s worth thinking about phone addiction among students and how university life impacts the culture around technology.
University is often seen as the first opportunity for proper freedom for young people, away from the restrictions of school and parents. This has been the case for generations, but the addition of technology and management of its use is a modern problem. Many students come from homes where phones are banned at school or are handed in to parents before going to bed. Suddenly being able to have unrestricted access to technology can send phone use skyrocketing. A study at King’s College London found that almost 4 in 10 students have a phone addiction, with the youngest participants aged 18 being the most likely to be affected. This suggests a culture of excessive phone usage at university and how it is being normalised. Is this a problem that the university needs to tackle, and can it even be solved?
Speaking to students, there is a clear divide in opinions on how university life has affected their phone usage and whether phone bans are successful. From a group of surveyed students, 64.3% of those asked said that they used their phone for up to 6 hours a day, mostly for social media and communication with others. Whilst the way phones are used seems to be consistent, views were divided on how university had impacted their screentime. Some said it had increased their use as they either used it more for work or, due to the less structured nature of university life, spent more time doom-scrolling in their rooms.
“Uni has never tried to force rules about phones,” said one student when explaining why her phone usage had increased. Many students find it too easy to end up reaching for their phones when bored.
However, many students have also found the opposite, arguing that uni life made them too busy to use their phone that much, and seeing friends every day had decreased their usage further.
“I’m spending much more time being busy and seeing people rather than being bored at home,” said one student.
The divide in opinion increases further when asked about phone bans. Whilst many argued they could reduce screentime, many were concerned about how effective they would be. Some mentioned that phone bans at their schools encouraged pupils to just be sneakier with their phone use, and could not see how a ban would translate to a bigger institution like a university. Some argued it could be belittling to adults, who should be able to make their own decisions about their technology use.
Despite the divide in phone usage and phone bans, there is clearly a trending pattern of developing phone addiction among university students. 98 per cent of the students I surveyed said they felt at least somewhat addicted to their phones, and 64 per cent said it hindered their ability to study effectively. So, whilst a phone ban at university might not be plausible, it is clear that excessive phone use is something that affects a large portion of students and their academic lives, and needs to be watched carefully. With the development of generative AI such as ChatGPT, it will be interesting to see how increasing dependence on technology continues to affect university students.
Illustration by Jessica Bolevin @bolevindesign