February 3, 2024 |Global News via UVic News
B. C. premier David Eby announced on Friday Jan. 26 that the government would start restricting the use of cell phones in classrooms across the province. The policy, to be enacted in time for the new school year, is an effort to help protect students from possible online threats.
In a sit-down with Global News, Dr. Ulrich Mueller, a psychology professor from the University of Victoria, linked this new policy to his recent study that examined the connection between children with cell phone addictions with displaying increased symptoms of ADHD.
Dr. Meuller explained how middle-school aged children that have cell phone addictions, or who are more compelled to check their phones throughout the day, are at risk of displaying increased ADHD symptoms. He also expressed that while banning cell phones in schools might be a good start, “it won’t resolve all the issues.” This was due in part to the study finding that 90% of students’ screen time was taking place at home.
Dr. Mueller is a professor and researcher at UVic, whose areas of expertise lie in lifespan development, cognition, and brain sciences. If you would like to find out more information on Dr. Mueller’s research into the impact of cell phone addictions on children’s development of ADHD symptoms, the research article can be found through the University of Victoria’s institutional repository, UVicSpace!
