Back-to-school news: mobile phones on hold
This is news that won’t have escaped the attention of teenagers: they will have to attend school without their mobile phones! The law banning mobile phones now applies to sixth-formers.
According to a study by IPSOS for the National Book Centre published in 2025, 15–19-year-olds spend an average of 5 hours 19 minutes a day in front of screens, a figure that is constantly rising. This prolonged exposure raises public health concerns (eye strain, sleep disorders), cognitive issues (difficulty concentrating), social issues (isolation) and civic concerns (misinformation, cyberbullying). The ban on mobile phones and other connected devices, already in force in primary and lower secondary schools, is therefore being extended to upper secondary schools from the start of the 2026 academic year. Mobile phones are now banned on the premises of primary schools, lower secondary schools and upper secondary schools, as well as during any outdoor activities or school trips. This ban does not apply to devices used by pupils with a disability or a disabling health condition. For the Rector of the Academy, Gabriele Fioni, the aim is above all to humanise the digital world and, in particular, the way it is used by the youngest pupils. Banning mobile phones gives them the opportunity to free themselves from this device so they can devote themselves fully to learning.
It also helps prevent them from falling prey to cyberbullying and endless distraction. He recommends that headteachers implement the measure with discretion and in consultation with pupils to find the approach best suited to the school’s specific circumstances. Schools and educational establishments may, in fact, include exceptions to this principle in their rules and regulations. For instance, in sixth-form colleges offering higher education programmes, the rules and regulations may include specific provisions for students. All establishments may also authorise certain exceptions, particularly for educational purposes. Nevertheless, some may experience this shift to remote learning as a real loss and, once at home, have only one priority: to make up for lost time… not in Proust’s novel, but on their mobile phones. In such cases, it will no longer be up to the law to regulate, but rather up to parents to set the limits.
