Mexico bans cellphones in schools, despite opposition from parents worried about violence

CULIACÁN, México — Starting Tuesday, Mexican schools will ban cellphones from classrooms as part of a federal government effort to limit children’s and teenagers’ use of electronic devices, following similar measures taken by over a hundred countries in the last decade.

The initiative, spearheaded by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, has been supported by experts who see it as an opportunity to reduce young Mexicans’ exposure to technology and the resulting attention deficit, stress and anxiety.

Mexican authorities are also preparing to implement regulations this month that will require digital platforms to remove posts containing hate speech, abuse, sexual violence, harassment, cyberbullying and other illegal content.

However, the cellphone ban, which will take effect on Nov. 3, is already facing resistance in some parts of the country. Some parents fear being unable to communicate with their children amid ongoing violence, from which children and adolescents are not spared. According to the civil society coalition Network for Children’s Rights in Mexico (REDIM), in the first half of this year, one in 10 Mexicans between the ages of 0 and 17 were victims of crimes involving organized crime.

“I don’t think parents will accept not giving their children a means of digital communication, especially when those children … are spending so much time at home instead of at school,” said Francisco Ortiz, state representative of the National Union of Parents in Sinaloa, accusing the government of ignoring parents and approving regulations that “go against parental authority, against the rights of parents.”

The decree issued by Sheinbaum prohibits the use of cellphones and electronic devices inside elementary and middle schools throughout the school day, and only allows their use for educational purposes under the guidance of teachers or for personal emergencies, disability and health needs. Students can take their phones with them on the way to school.

Benigno Gómez, a father from Reynosa in the northern state of Tamaulipas, said that while he understood the educational authorities’ need to reduce students’ time on cellphones, he found it “a little difficult” that they weren’t allowed to have a cellphone to deal with a potential risk situation.

Mexican authorities have not commented on these concerns and have instead focused on the harm caused by cellphones.

During a recent address to the Chamber of Deputies, Mexico’s Secretary of Public Education, Mario Delgado, stated that the Sheinbaum administration seeks to “prevent addiction to digital platforms and the disorders they cause in minors.”

Parents seek reassurance after episodes of violence

Just as the sun was beginning to rise, the residents of Escuinapa, the capital of the municipality of the same name located in southern Sinaloa, awoke on the morning of Oct. 22 to alarming news. A bus that regularly travels through the small town — which relies on mango and shrimp production — was shot at by a man on a motorcycle.

More than a dozen high school students were on board. A video recorded by one of the passengers circulated on social media, showing children on the floor and others hiding among the seats while one teenager asks another, “Do you have any credit (on your cellphone)?”

In the attack, only the bus driver was injured, suffering cuts from shards of glass shattered by the gunfire.

Upon learning of the shooting, one Escuinapa resident immediately called her teenage daughter, who had left early for high school in a car driven by her aunt.

“Just hearing my daughter’s voice and knowing she was OK calmed me down,” said the woman, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of the criminals plaguing her community — admitting that she didn’t hesitate to interrupt her daughter’s class to check on her.

The mother expressed doubts that parents will comply with the cellphone ban, fearing that violence could now reach schools in Escuinapa, and insisted that “the safety of our children comes first.”

In defense of the regulation

For Israel Sánchez, president of the National Union of Parents, the Mexican government’s decision represents progress after years of struggle by the civil organization, which brings together hundreds of parents from public and private schools, mostly Catholic.

Sánchez argued that authorities must undertake an awareness campaign for parents and provide training for teachers to achieve the effective implementation of the regulation.

Dr. Lucía Magis-Weinberg, a neurodevelopmental researcher at the University of Washington who has studied the effects of technology on children and adolescents for years, said Mexico is joining the international movement to regulate cellphones at a very opportune moment.

Magis-Weinberg acknowledged the benefits of technology for socialization and accessing information but said it is “a double-edged sword.”

Regulations are needed to avoid cognitive damage, digital conflicts, and the risks of platforms that “are designed to maintain, to maximize our attention.”

The ban on cellphones in schools is already in place in 114 countries, according to UNESCO data. In Europe, restrictions have gained increasing traction, especially in France, where the ban was extended to secondary schools in August. Controls have also been implemented in some countries in Latin America, such as Ecuador, Brazil, Chile, Bolivia and Costa Rica. In the United States, bans are only maintained in some states.

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Sánchez reported from Mexico City. Journalist Alfredo Peña contributed to this report from Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas.