The Swiped: The School That Banned Smartphones documentary saw 12-year-olds and their teachers at The Stanway School lock their mobile phones and devices away in a box for 21 days.
Throughout the three weeks the impact of the experiment was measured by researchers from York University, who monitored students’ sleep, mood, attention span, and symptoms of depression and anxiety.
In the UK, more than 90 per cent of 11-year-olds and almost half the nation’s nine-year-olds own a smartphone, while a fifth of the nation’s three and four-year-olds have their own device.
At the start of the experiment, some of the 12-year-olds admitted they go on their phone for as many as ten hours a day during the school holidays, with 38 per cent of the group using their phones more than four hours a day and 17 per cent using their phones more than six hours a day.
Matt said: “We are going through it with our kids, and we have no idea how to navigate this.
“We’re worried, we’re scared, everything we’re seeing is negative — but we don’t know how to stop it.”
After the three weeks were up, the school noticed students who didn’t have their phones seemed “readier to learn” and spent more time socially with their friends.
Scarlett, aged 12, had suffered from anxiety and panic attacks, but found she had none at all during the three weeks without her phone.
Several children said they felt “happier” and did more things they “actually wanted to do”.
Pupils also showed a three per cent boost in working memory, which in such a short time was “incredible”.
Emma Willis, who said she also felt happier after the phone ban, said: “I think what we all want is for our kids to be in the tech world from the right age, but be absolutely safe within it.
“If we all put that pressure on, hopefully we can make positive change.”
Swiped: The School That Banned Smartphones can be found on the Channel 4 streaming platform.
