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COMMENTARY

Let Students Lead Canada’s Phone-Free Revolution — With Rules That Actually Hold

By Ashna Ali

On the National Day of Unplugging, the conversation shouldn’t stop at logging off. Young people need more support — and greater voice — in shaping how attention and technology are managed in schools.

Attention is valuable currency. Every notification, second spent scrolling, and incoming message competes for attention, especially for students.

For young people, phones are not just distractions. They help organize the day, maintain connection with friends, access information, and sometimes manage health or other accessibility needs. Stepping away is not always easy, and students notice how notifications are timed, feeds are curated, and algorithms seem to anticipate their every move.

Young people also feel the harms of constant connection. Negative mental health impacts, misinformation, and challenges with focus and collaboration. They navigate privacy risks, social pressures, or deepfake concerns while relying on devices for essential communication with friends and parents. The stakes are high, shaping how students learn, connect, and feel in school.

All of this is playing out in schools across Canada. Every provincial education system has introduced phone restriction policies to help students focus and connect in class. They aim to address common problems: rising distraction in lessons, concerns about student mental health, the spread of cyberbullying into classrooms, questions about academic integrity in an era of AI tools, and equity challenges, recognizing that not all students experience technology the same way.

This is important progress. But new rules from provinces and school boards just aren’t enough without accompanying support to help educators and students buy-in and adopt them. That’s what we’re seeing across the country, through hugely inconsistent use and enforcement of the policies. 

Every provincial education system has introduced phone restriction policies to help students focus and connect in class.

Without intentional support, many students feel left out of the conversation. 

“At first I was frustrated, but I realized the real issue was not the policy itself, it was the lack of transparency,”
— Jannat, Grade 10, Nova Scotia

Students want to understand why policies exist, how they work, and what purpose they serve—not just follow rules blindly.

Our Heads Up program helps educators and students across Canada explore how technology, attention, and school policies intersect. Through our Youth Champions program, we train students to become peer facilitators. High school students explore the science of attention, persuasive design, and algorithms., practicing  facilitation, collaborating with students across the country, and reflecting creatively on healthy technology use.

Through the program, students step into an opportunity rarely offered to them: leading the conversation itself. 

“Reducing the stigma around youth tech struggles helped people feel less alone.”
– Abdi, Grade 12, Alberta

“I’m not just using social media. In the attention economy, I’m the product.”
– Nour, Grade 11, PEI

Understanding the attention economy can translate into leadership and community level impact. Students recognize the value of their attention, reflect on their habits, and support peers in making intentional choices – including putting phones away at school. Canadians at large feel the same way, with a 2025 national survey finding that an overwhelming eight in 10 Canadians back restrictions on cell phones in K–12 classrooms. 

Part of the challenge is about setting the right rules, and making sure they’re followed. Our Policymaker Playbook outlines how “bell-to-bell” policies across the school day, clearly communicated and consistently enforced, can improve classroom focus, reduce distractions, limit teacher phone policing, and support student well-being.

But students must be actively engaged. The program ensures students go beyond understanding the rules to grasp the reasoning behind them, and inspire their peers to do the same. 

Phone-free learning is not just about removing devices. It is about creating space to notice, reflect, collaborate, and reconnect. When students lead these conversations, policies stop feeling like restrictions and start becoming shared commitments. Attention is theirs, but it is also ours to respect. When they step into their role as ambassadors, they transform classrooms into communities of focus, connection, and shared leadership.

On the National Day of Unplugging, the question is not just when to unplug: it’s who gets to shape the norms around technology in schools. When students understand the systems competing for their attention and lead conversations about them, they don’t just follow rules; they help build them. The most meaningful step adults can take may be inviting young people to lead.