00:00A lot of the students we spoke to had some really good things to say about the phone
00:06ban. While they were all really sceptical at the beginning, they did say they adjusted
00:11to it very quickly. And while it hasn't solved all the issues they face at school, it has
00:16had some really positive impacts around distraction and mental health. But I will let them explain.
00:22Let's see what they had to say.
00:23I wasn't too happy about it. But over the weeks, I slowly grew into it.
00:29Mentally, I think it's definitely helped with concentration and your overall mood in school.
00:34I've actually seen some changes to my mental health and wellbeing because the phone ban
00:38has enabled me to not have a dependency on using social media all the time. So it's allowed
00:44me to really enjoy the world and just reality.
00:48It's good to have phones in lockers, especially if there are new ways for students to be distracted
00:52in class. It's good to eliminate at least one so that they can focus on learning, which
00:56is what you come to school to do.
00:57In general, I think we've just accepted it really well. And I think that over the next
01:01couple of years, when it keeps going and it starts to become more of an expectation for
01:06high school, I think it will really help just the wellbeing of every student.
01:10We spoke to Professor Campbell at the Queensland University of Technology, and she's just completed
01:16a massive review into all the research globally around this area. And she says there's not
01:22enough evidence to support a phone ban in schools. She says that for some young people,
01:30it's actually really good for their mental health to have their phones with them,
01:34especially if their communities and support networks aren't at the school where they go to.
01:39She also says that instead of a ban for high school students, we should be teaching them
01:45how to use their devices in moderation so that as adults, they have a healthy relationship
01:50with technology. So while the politicians and government are celebrating the statistics,
01:55and anecdotally, some of the students we spoke to said really good things,
02:00the research behind it, there's still some scepticism around the research behind it.
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