‘We need to protect them,’ Expert weighs in as Ontario considers banning phones in schools

Ontario’s Education Minister Paul Calandra says the province is considering banning phones altogether on school grounds, and one expert is welcoming the potential move. 

Calandra revealed the province’s plans during a news conference on Tuesday, after he was asked whether Ontario would consider banning social media in schools. 

“I think the evidence is becoming more and more clear that cell phone use in our elementary and secondary schools, anywhere on site, has become a problem,” he told reporters. 

“We are considering an alt-right ban on cell phones on school properties, across the province of Ontario. Obviously, for health reasons, we’ll allow some exemptions to that.”

Over the weekend, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew revealed that the province had plans to ban access to social media and AI chatbots in classrooms, according to media reports. 

Earlier this year, Culture Minister Marc Miller told reporters that the federal government is also seriously considering a social media ban for children in the country. 

The comments came after the Liberal party voted to pass a non-binding resolution to restrict Canadians under 16 from using social media accounts. The vote makes the resolution a party policy, but doesn’t translate directly into a ban just yet. 

Calandra also said Ontario is “working closely with the federal government” in terms of setting a social media ban for children under a certain age, saying most education ministers and some educators in the country agree that the accounts are “not healthy for kids in schools to have access.” 

According to him, the province is also looking into Manitoba’s ban, but might take it a step further. 

“We’re reviewing what Manitoba has done. I think it’s a good opportunity for us in Ontario, but doesn’t go necessarily as far as we would like it to go, but it’s a good step,” he said. 

Last year, Australia became the first country to ban kids under 16 from using major social media, including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, X, Threads, and YouTube. The ban sparked discussions over youth’s social media use worldwide, including in Canada. 

Following the trend, Brazil has also passed a bill restricting cell phone use in elementary and high schools starting in February, limiting their use to cases of emergency, disabilities, or educational activities. 

Expert weighs in 

Since 2024, Ontario already has restrictions in place over the use of cell phones in schools. For students in kindergarten to Grade 6, phones need to stay out of sight and on silent during the school day. Meanwhile, for Grades 7 to 12, the devices are prohibited during class time. 

However, clinical psychologist and associate professor at the University of Toronto, Todd Cunningham, says the existing rules are not enough, as they don’t address the distracting aspects of social media and phone usage outside of class time. 

“When you think about the hallway, the time transitioning between classes, on the playground, in the cafeteria, this is meant to be a time for students to develop their social skills, to really connect together with their peers, to talk, laugh, joke, talk about the teachers do all the crazy stuff that teenagers do,” he told Now Toronto. “But the second the cell phone is there, that interrupts that”

According to the expert, the constant use of their phones and the use of social media has been linked to negative effects for children and adolescents.

Studies show that the earlier children access internet-enabled devices, the poorer their mental health might get by 21 years old, as they can be extremely distracting, offer exposure to inappropriate content, and foster harmful comparisons. 

“It also is very stressful…It uses a ton of brain activity, and then often kids come off feeling exhausted, tired. So, then we don’t have the same quality of interactions after that kind of period,” she said. 

In light of damages caused by cell phones and social media in children, Cunningham said he would welcome Ontario’s ban. 

Although the ban will only restrict the devices on school grounds, the expert says it could also trigger wider conversations for parents on the importance of restricting social media, leading to an even greater impact down the road. 

“What the government’s doing here is a really good signal that’s saying, ‘We want kids to be kids. We want them to interact with each other,’” he said. 

“We have introduced something into society that is not healthy for our kids and especially for brains that are developing. We really need to protect that brain development for the vast majority.”