Have smartphones destroyed a generation? More and more countries are banning them in schools as the evidence against them grows stronger. But a fierce fightback is under way.

England and Wales may soon join them. This week, the UK Education Secretary Gavin Williamson launched a commission to investigate banning phone use in schools. And the subsequent ban could begin as soon as January 2022.

For Williamson, phones in classrooms present a triple threat. They make it difficult to create "a calm and orderly environment" for learning. They "distract from healthy exercise and good old-fashioned play". And worst of all, they are a "breeding ground for cyberbullying" and other dangerous behaviour.

Williamson is far from the only voice opposed to phones in classrooms. A 2019 poll found 49% of British parents support a ban.

The idea that smartphones interfere with education has some academic heft. A 2015 report from the London School of Economics found that phone bans in schools increase exam grades. A University of Chicago study found the "mere presence" of phones "reduced cognitive capacity", even when switched off and out of sight.

Beyond worries over reduced outdoor exercise, phones present some real health issues. China's ban, announced this January, was in part a response to rising childhood nearsightedness.

In a 2017 article for The Atlantic, the demographer Jean M Twenge went so far as to suggest that smartphones have destroyed a whole generation. Twenge parallels an increase in mental health problems among teenagers to growing smartphone use.

"All screen activities are linked to less happiness, and all non-screen activities are linked to more happiness," she claims. She found that eighth-graders who heavily use social media are more likely to report "symptoms of depression".

Not everyone agrees. In response to Twenge's essay, education expert Lisa Guernsey cautioned that though teen happiness has experienced a "slight dip", it has not changed much from the previous two decades.

Black mirror

Removing phones could even damage some students' education. The National Deaf Children's Society's Mike Hobday says: "what about the thousands of deaf pupils who rely on theirs? I doubt the education secretary has plans to provide an alternative to their speech-to-text apps."

Some also make a positive argument for the smartphone. Learning about digital technology is often regarded as important. In 2014, the British government mandated computer coding lessons in schools. Smartphones might offer an accessible route to such studies.

Smartphones themselves are a gateway to knowledge. They can contain multiple dictionaries, atlases and encyclopaedias. They can be used to perform quizzes, read articles and use an ever-increasing array of learning apps.

Rather than banning smartphones, some suggest we should work out how to utilise them better in classes. One religious studies teacher in Hertfordshire says: "We need more investment into educating students how to use their phones." Used correctly, a distraction could become a vital learning aid.

Have smartphones destroyed a generation?

Yes, say some. The charge sheet is damning. Smartphones prevent exercise and real-life interaction, distract in the classrooms, reduce attainment, restrict sleep, cause short-sightedness and enable cyberbullying. And perhaps worst of all, they could be the root of a serious mental health crisis among young people. Their use should be restricted to spare the teenagers of the future.

Absolutely not, say others. To say technology has ruined a generation is a huge exaggeration. It would be more honest to say that smartphones have changed the way several generations live and communicate. Like all upheavals, they have good and bad points. Besides, we cannot look at education through a rearview mirror, especially if we aim to prepare people for today's hyper-connected world.