Psychologists at UCLA tested reading comprehension in more than 100 elementary school students and found those who owned cellphones had poorer scores – whether the phone was at school or at home.
Cellphone bans in school may not improve learning, at least when it comes to one important subject.
Psychologists at UCLA tested reading comprehension in more than 100 third and sixth graders — some who owned phones, some who didn't.
Their question: Do cellphones make it harder for kids to focus on academics?
The results? Kids who owned a cellphone did score lower on reading comprehension tests. But it didn’t matter if the phone was in their backpack, on their desk, or left at home on test day.
The lead author says, “It’s ownership of a phone, not the immediate presence of one, that correlates with poorer reading comprehension at the elementary school level.”
She says the same pattern was seen in both third and sixth graders, suggesting there's no “right age” to give a child a phone when it comes to reading comprehension.
While the findings suggest school cellphone bans alone may not improve academics through sixth grade, the researchers say the bans could still help strengthen children's social skills and relationships by encouraging more face-to-face interaction with classmates and teachers.
Source: Behavioral Sciences
Author Affiliations: UCLA
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