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Paris: Tens of thousands of pupils in France are going through a slightly different return to school this autumn, deprived of their mobile phones. At 180 “colleges”, the middle schools French children attend between the ages of 11 and 15, a scheme is being trialled to ban the use of mobile phones during the entire school day.
The trial of the “pause numerique” (digital pause), which encompasses over 50,000 pupils, is being implemented ahead of a possible plan to enforce it nationwide from 2025.Right now, pupils in French middle schools must turn off their phones. The experiment takes things further, requiring kids to hand in their phones on arrival. It is part of a move by Prez Macron for children to spend less time in front of screens, which the govt fears is arresting their development.
According to a report submitted to Macron, children under 11 should not be allowed to use phones, while access to social networks should be limited for pupils under 15. With an increasing amount of research showing the risks of excessive screen time for children, the concern has become a Europe-wide issue. Sweden said this week children under the age of two should be kept away from digital media and TV completely and it should be limited for more senior ages.
The French education ministry hopes the cellphone-free environment would improve “school climate” and reduce instances of violence including online harassment and dissemination of violent images. It also wants to improve student performance because the use of phones harms “the ability to concentrate”. The experiment also aims to “raise pupils’ awareness of the rational use of digital tools”.
The trial of the “pause numerique” (digital pause), which encompasses over 50,000 pupils, is being implemented ahead of a possible plan to enforce it nationwide from 2025.Right now, pupils in French middle schools must turn off their phones. The experiment takes things further, requiring kids to hand in their phones on arrival. It is part of a move by Prez Macron for children to spend less time in front of screens, which the govt fears is arresting their development.
According to a report submitted to Macron, children under 11 should not be allowed to use phones, while access to social networks should be limited for pupils under 15. With an increasing amount of research showing the risks of excessive screen time for children, the concern has become a Europe-wide issue. Sweden said this week children under the age of two should be kept away from digital media and TV completely and it should be limited for more senior ages.
The French education ministry hopes the cellphone-free environment would improve “school climate” and reduce instances of violence including online harassment and dissemination of violent images. It also wants to improve student performance because the use of phones harms “the ability to concentrate”. The experiment also aims to “raise pupils’ awareness of the rational use of digital tools”.
