Los Angeles plans to ban the use of smartphones in schools

The Los Angeles School District voted Tuesday to impose a complete ban on smartphone use in the city's public schools.

The decision came at a time when the governor of California, the most populous state in the United States, wants to ban the use of these devices in school, to reduce their impact on students’ mental health.

In Los Angeles, which runs the second-largest school district in the country, the administration will need to develop a plan to prevent the use of cell phones and social media throughout the day.

“Schools that have already implemented a phone-free day are seeing amazing results: kids are happier, they talk to each other, and they perform better academically,” said district board member Nick Melvoin, who proposed the ban.

“So I think this is an idea whose time has come,” he added.

His decision cited research indicating that excessive cell phone use is linked to increased stress, anxiety, depression, sleep problems, feelings of aggression and suicidal thoughts among teens.

Studies have also shown improved academic performance for those who do not use smartphones.

The birthplace of social networking, the United States is increasingly concerned about its impact on the lives of young Americans.

On Monday, the country's chief medical officer, Vivek Murthy, signed off on an op-ed in The New York Times calling for prevention messages, like those found on cigarette packs.

It calls on platforms to post clear warnings to “alert to the significant risks they pose to teens' mental health.”

The doctor recalls that spending more than three hours a day on social networks doubles the risk of causing symptoms associated with depression and anxiety in teenagers.

This manager writes that in the summer of 2023, young people spent about 5 hours a day on these applications.

California Governor Gavin Newsom used this platform on Tuesday to announce his intention to ban the use of smartphones in schools throughout the Golden State.

A project that must first be approved by local parliamentarians in this democratic state.

In an increasingly polarized America, this is one of the rare bipartisan consensus. Florida, led by Mr. Newsom's nemesis, Republican Ron DeSantis, for example, banned the use of smartphones in schools last year.

Similar projects are underway in Oklahoma, Kansas, Vermont, Ohio, Louisiana and Pennsylvania.