The ban on mobile phones at school massively supported by the Swiss population – rts.ch

This poll shows that even young people are in the majority for a ban on phones at school, with 64% of 18-25 year olds in the “yes” camp. The approval rate increases with age.

Women (87%) are more in favor of a ban on smartphones in schools than men (78%). And support for such a measure is greater among people who have completed an apprenticeship or left school after compulsory training (86%) than among those with university education (76%).

Increased awareness of risks

According to the study’s authors, widespread support for a ban on phones in schools can be explained by growing awareness of the risks. Particularly among young people, addiction, concentration problems and disrupted social interactions are highlighted.

Measures in most French-speaking cantons

Switzerland does not have a general ban on cell phones in schools, as is the case in France or Italy. But smartphones are expressly banned from classes, or from school grounds, in most French-speaking cantons (Fribourg, Vaud, Jura, Valais and Geneva). On the Neuchâtel side, the measures are the responsibility of the establishments and devices are almost systematically prohibited during lessons. But here too, a cantonal action plan is called for.

The president of the Conference of Cantonal Directors of Public Education (CDIP), Silvia Steiner, pleaded in September for a general ban on mobile phones in schools. Individuals have somewhat “unlearned” how to communicate with each other directly, lamented the Zurich director of education in the pages of the Tages-Anzeiger.

The survey was carried out on behalf of the Berne Generation House (Berner Generationenhaus) as part of the study “Generation Barometer 2024/2025”, which will be published at the beginning of 2025. Between September 18 and October 9, 2,754 people over 18 years old were interviewed in German-speaking and French-speaking Switzerland.

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