Skip to content

Phone Restrictions in K-12 Schools: National Survey on Canadian Sentiment

Survey Brief | May 2025

Dais Pattern

Survey Brief (PDF)

Contributors

Angus Lockhart

Angus Lockhart
Senior Policy Analyst

Rajender Singh

Rajender Singh
Senior Policy Analyst

André Côté

André Côté
Director of Policy and Research

Tags

Share

Executive Summary

Over the last year, provincial governments across Canada have taken action to address growing concerns of digital distraction in classrooms by introducing various forms of mobile phone restrictions in K-12 schools. These efforts respond to a sharp increase in screen time among Canadian youth and mounting research linking excessive device use to negative academic and health outcomes. While the policies differ by region and school district, they reflect a shared intent to reduce students’ in-class phone use and refocus attention on learning.

This brief draws on new national survey data to examine how Canadians view these phone restriction policies and broader digital regulation for youth. The findings reveal widespread public support for school-based restrictions, especially among older Canadians and parents, alongside more divided opinions on the effectiveness of current measures. 

  • More than four in five Canadian residents (81%) support school phone restrictions. This is consistent across Canada, with a majority in all age groups and provinces supporting cell phone ban policies.
  • Canadians are split on the effectiveness of phone restrictions. The survey showed 37% perceive restrictions as at least somewhat effective and 40% as not very effective. Parents of school-age children are more likely to perceive restrictions as effective (50%). 
  • There is much more support for stronger phone restriction approaches. Support for a full bell-to-bell ban was 34%; support for allowing students to use phones only during breaks and recess was 40%; with just 2% support no restrictions.
  • Two thirds of Canadians (66%) support restricting social media use by children under the age of 16. Even among younger Canadians aged 16 to 29, a majority (55%) support a ban like the policy introduced in Australia. 

These findings point to an important window of opportunity: while Canadians broadly support efforts to reduce phone use in schools, there remains uncertainty about how effective these restrictions have been to date. Younger Canadians, including school aged 16 to 18 year olds, are the most muted in their support. As provinces, school districts and educators across the country continue in their efforts to apply these restrictions in schools, there is a need for clear policies, consistent messaging, effective enforcement and, critically, more student engagement. Addressing these issues will be essential to turning widespread support into long-term impact. 

About Screen Break

Screen Break (Pause d’Écran en français) is the first Canada-wide program to support students, parents, educators, and policymakers in navigating a new, necessary reality: phone-free classrooms.

To bring this vision to life, the program anchored in two core initiatives:

  1. Mobilizing for phone-free classrooms – supporting students, parents, educators, school boards, and governments, by providing information, guidance, training and tracking the progress of new K-12 phone restriction policies in all Canadian provinces.
  2. A Youth Champions Program – that equips selected high school students in all provinces to engage their peers, and advocate for positive change, about phone-free classrooms and technology use in education. 

The Screen Break program builds on the Dais’ public policy and leadership work at the intersection of technology, education and democracy. We focus on ensuring digital technology is developed and used safely, and responsibly in Canada.

Introduction

Over the past year, every province has introduced some form of classroom phone restriction for K-to-12 schools, reflecting growing concern over the role of mobile devices in educational settings. While these policies differ in specifics, they all aim to solve the same underlying issue: reducing students’ use of personal phones and other digital devices in schools.

Recent research shows that Canadian adolescents’ average daily screen time has increased from six hours in 2018 to nearly eight hours in 2022, exceeding national recommendations by nearly four times and highlighting a growing reliance on digital devices. 

Excessive screen time has been linked to a range of adverse health and academic outcomes, including lower standardized test scores, increased anxiety, depression, aggression, poor sleep, and a higher risk of obesity, according to a growing body of research.

As one response to tackle this, provinces across Canada have initiated various phone-free classroom policies to limit in-class distractions and refocus students on learning. However, cell phone restrictions vary not only by province but often by school district, leaving many teachers and classroom staff unsupported to enforce new measures.

This brief presents findings on public attitudes toward school phone restrictions and related digital policies, based on our latest national survey. It explores not only the extent of support for existing restrictions, but also how effective these policies are perceived to be, and what kinds of restrictions Canadians prefer. The data also sheds light on broader trends in public opinion around youth technology use, including a growing appetite for stricter social media regulations. 

Together, these findings offer valuable insight into how Canadians want schools - and society more broadly - to navigate the challenges of the digital age.

Methodology
This study was conducted from January 20, 2025 to January 27, 2025 with Pollara Strategic Insights. In total, 2,502 Canadian residents aged 16 and older were interviewed for the project, using respondents provided by the online panel provider, Léger. The sample of 2,502 Canadian residents was weighted by age, gender, language, and region based on the latest Census data, to ensure the sample is representative of Canada as a whole. Totals presented throughout may not sum or add to 100 percent due to rounding.

Support for screen restrictions

Across Canada, there is broad and consistent support for phone restrictions in schools. Our previous survey, conducted in April 2024 before most provinces had adopted phone restriction policies, found that nearly 80% of Canadian residents supported screen limits in K-12 classrooms. This year, now that screen restrictions in one form or another have been implemented in every province, we see that support for phone restrictions remains strong.

Figure 1: Support for cell phone bans in K-12 Classrooms

Figure_1

Question: All Canadian provinces have now announced restrictions on the use of mobile phones in K-12 schools in response to growing evidence of negative impacts on student learning and mental health. Do you support or oppose banning mobile phones in K-12 classes?

Now more than 8 in 10 Canadian residents say they support banning mobile phones in K-12 classes, with nearly 60% strongly supporting restrictions. Only 7% oppose the policy. This is true across Canada - in every province, a large majority of respondents said they support the cell phone bans (the lowest rate is 74% in Nova Scotia). 

Figure 2: Support for cell phone bans in K-12 classrooms by province

Figure_2

Question: All Canadian provinces have now announced restrictions on the use of mobile phones in K-12 schools in response to growing evidence of negative impacts on student learning and mental health. Do you support or oppose banning mobile phones in K-12 classes?

There is majority support across all age groups for banning mobile phones in K-12 classrooms, but the levels of support increase with age. Canadians aged 60+ express near-unanimous support (93%), with less than 3% opposing a phone ban. For those in the 16 to 29 cohort, only 60% support the policy with 16% opposing it. Zooming in on teenage respondents between 16 and 19, we saw that 63% support phone bans, though the level of strong support—23%— is lower than for other age groups (the sample size for this group is only 58 individuals).

Figure 3: Support for cell phone bans in K-12 classrooms by age

Figure_3

Question: All Canadian provinces have now announced restrictions on the use of mobile phones in K-12 schools in response to growing evidence of negative impacts on student learning and mental health. Do you support or oppose banning mobile phones in K-12 classes?

Parents are also very supportive of phone restrictions, at a rate comparable to the general population (79% versus 81% for all Canadians). A slightly higher share of parents oppose cell phone bans (10% versus 7% for all Canadians).

Effectiveness of current policies

Despite strong support for cell phone bans, Canadians are more split on their perceptions of the effectiveness of phone restrictions. Only 37% of Canadians say the policies are either very or somewhat effective, with a higher proportion (40%) perceiving the policies as either not very effective or not at all effective. Nearly a quarter of Canadians (23%) responded that they don’t know, suggesting lower levels of awareness about these phone restriction policies.

Figure 4: Perceived effectiveness of current cell phone restrictions 

Figure_4

Question: How effectively do you think the personal device restriction policies are implemented and enforced in schools?

A higher share of parents with kids under 18 perceive the phone restrictions as very or somewhat effective (50%), with the same share (41%) as non-parents perceiving the restrictions as not effective (41%). Notably, a much larger share of non-parents responded that they don’t know.

Figure 5: Perceived effectiveness of current cell phone restrictions by parents of children under 18

Figure_5

Question: How effectively do you think the personal device restriction policies are implemented and enforced in schools?

Preferred policy options

There are many different ways that cell phone restrictions in schools could be implemented, ranging from strict bans, preventing students bringing their phones to schools, to more lenient options where teachers can decide when mobile phone use is appropriate. We asked respondents to choose between four specific options: a total bell-to-bell ban on personal devices; personal device use only during recess and breaks; letting teachers decide how to enforce the restrictions on a class-by-class basis; or no restrictions, allowing students to decide when to use their devices.

Figure 6: Preferred approach to cell phone restrictions in schools

Figure_6

Question: All existing mobile phone restrictions include special accommodations for students with specific needs. Thinking about students without specific needs, which of the following best describes your preferred approach to personal device restrictions in schools?

The most popular approach is to allow students devices but only during breaks or recess - favoured by 40% of all Canadians. Next was a total ban bell-to-bell, which was supported by 34% of Canadians. Less than one in five (16%) supported letting teachers decide (16%). Virtually no respondents (2%) preferred the no restrictions option. There was very little difference in preferences between parents and non-parents. 

Figure 7: Preferred approach to cell phone restrictions in schools by age

Figure_7

Question: All existing mobile phone restrictions include special accommodations for students with specific needs. Thinking about students without specific needs, which of the following best describes your preferred approach to personal device restrictions in schools?

Younger Canadian residents are far less likely than older residents to support a bell-to-bell ban - only 20% of those in the youngest group support the ban, climbing steadily with age. While for most age groups, allowing devices during breaks or recess is the most popular choice, for the oldest group (those over 60) the bell-to-bell ban is most popular.

Social media bans

We also asked Canadians about instituting a new social media ban for all children up to the age of 16, similar to what has recently been adopted in Australia. This also received significant support from Canadian residents - with two in three (66%) supporting the proposal and only 13% opposing it. 

Figure 8: Support for restricting social media use by children under the age of 16

Figure_8

Question: Recently the Australian government announced a ban on social media use for teens up to the age of 16. Would you support or oppose the Canadian federal government banning social media use for teens under the age of 16?

While support for cell phone restrictions in schools grows steadily with age, support for social media bans is consistent across all groups over the age of 30 with only those 16-29 being less likely to support the policy (although still a majority in this age group support a higher age requirement for social media - 55% support the policy while only 19% oppose it).