Anna HolliganAmsterdam
Two years back, Dutch schools banned mobile phones to decrease distractions, improve student concentration, and motivate much better academic efficiency. Since then, smart phones, smartwatches and tablets have actually been banished from classrooms, passages and canteens in schools across the Netherlands.
Now the Dutch government wishes to go even more, pressing to limit social media for under-16s and requiring an EU-wide 15+ age limit for apps like Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.
At Amsterdam's Cygnus Gymnasium school, a fluorescent yellow indication on the school gates alerts pupils streaming in on their bikes: "Attention: from this point on, your phone should be in your locker. Thank you."
The catchy (in Dutch at least) motto - "Telefoon t'huis of in de kluis" (Phone at home or in the locker) - now applies across the country.
Rather than passing a law, the government went with a national arrangement with schools, parents and teachers, arguing this would protect buy-in and bring in the guidelines rapidly without a prolonged legislative fight.
In the school corridor, outside an English classroom decorated with artwork depicting various Shakespeare plays, friends Hanna and Fena confide they have blended sensations about the ban.
"Since the ban we have to look out for the instructors, so they do not take the phones," they say. "I believe it's annoying however not like it's breaching our rights or something like that.
"Maybe now we are a little bit more in the minute. In the break no one is actually on their phones."
Their instructor, Ida Peters, notifications the difference too. "As a teacher you're always attempting to get kids' attention. It's constantly an obstacle to get that focus in class, and now their phones are less present, that certainly assists."
Smartphones are not implied to be out in UK classrooms either, however with no nationwide guidelines on where they must be the remainder of the day, schools and teachers are left to improvise.
In the Netherlands, the across the country agreement indicates the onus is off the teachers. Ms Peters feels this Dutch approach has actually freed staff. "There's less friction in class management," she states.
"In the hallways there utilized to be a lot of checking the phone; now it's more relaxed, a calmer atmosphere, not too anxious about anything else going on."
Phones aren't allowed at breaks or school parties either, Ms Peters adds, so students don't stress that they might be photographed and put up on Snapchat or Instagram. "And when kids are more unwinded, their learning results improve."
Early data backs up her impressions.
A government-commissioned research study of 317 secondary schools found that about three-quarters reported better concentration considering that phones were prohibited.
Almost two-thirds said the social climate had actually improved, and around a 3rd saw better academic efficiency. Other surveys suggest less bullying when gadgets are gotten of the school day.
Fifteen-year-old Felix and Karel, in the basic uniform of extra-large hoodies and denims, invest in between two and five hours a day on social media.
Karel keeps his phone charging next to his bed and checks messages as soon as he awakens; Felix waits up until after breakfast.
"When I first heard the news, I believed, 'I desire to change schools due to the fact that this isn't what I came here for,'" one of them admits. "But I have not actually felt a downside of it. If it takes place in the UK, I believe it will have a favorable effect on the students."
In the Netherlands, the dispute has actually currently moved onto social networks.
The Dutch federal government formally encourages that kids under 15 ought to stay off social media, and the brand-new government union desires a Europe-wide, enforceable 15+ minimum age backed by age-verification. They argue that if states can restrict alcohol or gaming, they must also act when platforms are created to be addictive.
The three parties in government hold just 66 of 150 seats in parliament, so they require support from others, and any binding guideline on children accessing social media would have to be negotiated at EU level. But popular opinion seems shifting in their favour.
A Unicef study of more than 1,000 Dutch kids and teens discovered that 69% favoured a social media ban for under-18s.
In the very same survey, 28% stated platforms ought to be off-limits for under-12s entirely, arguing that more youthful kids must "still be playing outside instead of on their phones" and describing social media as addictive, unsafe and bad for their mental health.
An annual social media survey by research firm Newcom found that 60% of 16-to-28-year-olds back an age limitation, up from 44% a year ago.
This challenges the idea that young individuals are desperate to be completely online.
Former education minister Koen Becking indicates "growing proof" that heavy social media use is bad for psychological health and social interaction, stating Dutch data reveal kids are more distracted and more nervous when they have access to devices.
Back at Cygnus school, Karel states he would be "a little ravaged" if a social media ban was enforced.
"I'm a bit addicted, I'm scrolling on TikTok as quickly as I wake up or inspecting messages from buddies."
But schoolmate Felix is more relaxed: "You 'd get used to it and discover other things to do, so I don't believe I would actually mind."
At the same time, the Dutch Research Council is now analyzing the unexpected repercussions of the mobile phone restriction, and whether lacking a phone all day increases fear of losing out and triggers more extensive phone usage after school.
The pupils all insist they are not bingeing more before and after school. But Felix confides that while many trainees still keep phones in their pockets - so long as teachers do not see - he thinks keeping the screens out of sight has made them more present.
"People are talking more, going to the stores rather of just being in the snack bar on their phones," he states. "We hang out more; social connections have improved."
For Dutch children, scrolling on mobile phones is no longer a part of school life. The next question for the Netherlands, and possibly, soon, for the UK, is whether access to the social media apps should be consigned to history too.