The effect that the ban on mobile phones is having on the wellbeing of South Australia’s students was examined in the annual lecture presented by the Flinders University Institute for Mental Health and Wellbeing, held last week before more than 60 researchers, educators, advocates and parents.

In the wake of the South Australian Government introducing a new policy to restrict phones in public secondary schools from Term 1 in 2023, Associate Professor Daniel King undertook a study to evaluate the potential effects of the phone ban on students’ academic engagement, emotional wellbeing, peer interactions and school connectedness.

In the lecture, Associate Professor King addressed questions of how often students were using their phone; whether the ban had a positive effect on academic engagement and school connectedness; whether it affected the problematic use of phones and bullying; the characteristics of students who complied with the ban; and what students thought of the ban.

You can see the lecture via the online link here.

Following Associate Professor King’s lecture, a panel discussion was facilitated by John Mannion, CEO of Breakthrough Mental Health Research Foundation. Panel members included:

• Taimi Allan – Mental Health Commissioner for South Australia
• Dr Matthew Verdon – Deputy Principal, Australian Science and Mathematics School
• Jason Loke – Deputy Principal, Blackwood High School
• Amanda Bennett – Head of Middle School, Unley High School

The panel discussed such topics as managing wellbeing in schools, educating students about the safe use of technology and how students use other forms of technology in their education. Asking how well students complied with the ban and identifying the challenges that have arisen from the ban were also discussed, as were the personal experiences of panel members in implementing and managing the ban.

Associate Professor King’s research was supported by a Flinders Foundation Health Seed Grant.