The school year in public and private schools in São Paulo ends in December with a historic event: for the first time, children and adolescents were not able to use their cell phones inside schools.
The measure, imposed by State Law No. 18,058 of 2024 and Federal Law No. 15,100 of 2025, took effect at the beginning of this year and required a change in the habits of students and schools.
In São Paulo, as in the rest of the country, schools have had to create rules to control restrictions and, in some cases, have encountered student resistance to the novelty. Generally speaking, the assessment of education professionals is that the measure generated results in most schools and had a direct impact on student socialization and learning.
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A student uses his cell phone in front of school
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Mariana uses her cell phone while leaving the public school where she studies
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Social media use can harm adolescent mental health
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Teenagers use cell phones
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Students say the ban has improved socialization and they are now more attentive in class
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The principal and coordinator of a municipal school reports learning gains, better interaction between students and a reduction in cyberbullying with the end of cell phones in schools
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Without cell phones, students increased their gaming during recess at a municipal school in SP
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At the Meire de Jesus Ribeiro (Emef) municipal primary school, in Cidade Tiradentes, east of São Paulo, the news was better received by the younger students than the older ones.
Principal Cristiane dos Santos says the school created a protocol: whenever a student is caught using their cell phone, they go to the principal’s office. The device is only returned when a responsible person comes to the unit.
“There was already resistance, from the students who did not want to return it,” she remembers. The team then called the boy’s father who not only allowed the school to collect the device, but also left his son without a cell phone for three days after the episode.
Parental support for the ban, according to the director, was fundamental to the work restriction. But some say children and teenagers themselves helped ensure the rule was respected.
“They themselves report to you if teachers are using (their cell phones),” explains the school’s educational coordinator, João dos Santos, recalling that the measure also applies to adults.
For him, one of the most positive results since the restriction on mobile phones came into force has been the reduction in cyberbullying – harassment carried out in digital media, such as social networks and gaming platforms.
“It has decreased a lot. They took photos of others without authorization,” says the coordinator, explaining that the images were then published by the students on the networks, often in a distorted manner.
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Private schools
In private schools, the perception of the first year of the cell phone ban is similar. Coordinator of the Pedagogical Department of the Union of Educational Establishments of the State of São Paulo (Sieesp), an entity that represents the private sector, Edson Pequeno says that several units have also celebrated the impact on cyberbullying: “It has decreased considerably,” he says.
Edson says schools are now reporting greater student adaptation to the measure. “The beginning was the most hectic phase,” he says. According to the coordinator, episodes of anxiety, even aggression, among students marked the first months of the ban in several schools.
Schools have begun to discuss more deeply students’ addiction to electronic devices and what is called nomophobia – a disorder recognized by the World Health Organization and characterized by the irrational fear of being without a cell phone.
At Colégio Dante Alighieri in Jardim Paulista in the city center, conversations about device addiction are happening both with families and with the students themselves.
“There is pain in letting go. Certainly, every addict suffers to end this addiction. We understand this and have organized conversation circles with the students,” explains Valdenice Minatel, institutional and technological director of the school.
In the unit, the restriction of cell phone use during recess began even before the law was passed, in September 2024. To fill the space left by the lack of cell phones during recess, the school has invested in initiatives such as board games, the provision of musical instruments and sports practices.
“It was wonderful. We got back the view of the playing field which was already nostalgic and, fortunately, is no longer so. People are talking, interacting, playing.”
Hidden use
Even with the ban, some continue to bring their cell phones to school and use them secretly. “In the toilets, yesterday and today, I saw (people with cell phones in their hands),” says Matheus Henrique, 11, a student at Emef Meire de Jesus Ribeiro.
He says some colleagues are “addicted” to the device and even use it in class, hiding it when the teacher looks at it. Every day, the school records two to three cases of students using cell phones.
What do the laws say that ban cell phones in schools?
- Students are prohibited from using cell phones and other electronic devices, including during recess.
- There are exceptions, such as use in educational activities.
- Cell phones are also permitted for reasons of accessibility, inclusion and to meet student health conditions.
- State law requires schools to create mechanisms to keep cell phones out of the reach of children, if they bring them.
At Etec Takashi Morita, in Santo Amaro, in the southern zone, where there are only high school students, the Metropolises I have spoken with students who continue to wear the device normally. “It’s harder for me (to do without it) because I’ve always used it,” explains a 3rd year student.
In general, those surveyed say the restrictions are easier on younger people.
Disconnected
For Antônia Brandão Teixeira, co-founder of Movimento Desconecta, which defends cell phones only from the age of 14, the arrival of the law which restricts the device in schools was crucial to broaden the debate on the impacts of cell phones on children and adolescents.
“One way or another, the law has brought this dialogue into homes, into families,” she says.
The activist, however, defends that families also introduce this restriction at home. “Mobile phones have been banned inside the school, which is already a big step forward, but they are also present inside homes for many more hours. »
The movement is based on research that warns of the risks of excessive use of screens and social networks among children, and is inspired by the recommendations of social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, author of the book “The Anxious Generation”.
Haidt studied the impact of smartphones on the lives of children and adolescents and said that excessive use of screens increased cases of depression and anxiety during childhood.
Other studies also show that smartphones can harm children’s development, affecting their learning and socialization.
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