OPINION: It is hard to keep up with fast-paced digital developments, and policies are always lagging. How should South African schools approach social media, cellphones, Artificial Intelligence in classrooms, and codes of conduct around communication between learners and teachers? In Finland, a year-long cellphone ban is yielding positive results.

“Gee, getting attention from a class was difficult enough before cellphones; it must be a nightmare now with them. 😆”

This was the WhatsApp response from my mother, Val, a retired public primary school music teacher accustomed to periods of frustration when trying to teach the basics of music to a class of fidgety, disengaged learners.

She was responding to an article by our senior reporter, Velani Ludidi, who interviewed visiting Finnish Education Minister Anders Adlercreutz about improved concentration in class after a ban on cellphones in schools in the Nordic country.

Finland, which is known for its world-class free education system, banned cellphones during lessons a year ago, with many schools extending the discretionary ban to break times. Notably, Finland is also a leading mobile tech pioneer and at the forefront of digital innovations.

Interviewed during a working trip to South Africa in August, Adlercreutz said that not only are classrooms a lot calmer, but the restrictions have also transformed the playground, with learners interacting with one another instead of staring at their screens.

The minister, whose country tops the 2026 World Happiness Report, argued that the ability to concentrate for sustained periods will become even more important as technology, including artificial intelligence, reshapes education and the workplace.

South Africa is the most unequal country in the world, and it would be foolhardy to replicate policies directly from Finland, one of the world’s wealthiest nations. However, we can anticipate trends, learn from global educational reforms, and share experiences.

Finland’s stance on cellphones comes amid a broader focus on the harms of social media, as we are bombarded with short-form digital content that is often generated or manipulated by AI. Many countries are experimenting with tighter regulations, especially for children.

This raises the question of how our schools approach social media, cellphones, AI, and communication codes of conduct. Just this week we learnt about protocols being developed around the ubiquitous use of WhatsApp between teachers and learners, as current guidelines have not kept pace with modern digital practices. These gaps were highlighted in parliament amid questions about teacher-learner communication tools following a report on the statutory rape of young girls.

Beyond setting up internal boundaries, tech giants themselves face increasing legal scrutiny over the mental health impact of their products. In the United States, Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, paid a  $16.8 billion fine instead of being put on trial, accused of creating a youth mental health crisis that includes addiction.

There are no easy answers in this rapidly evolving digital landscape, which has revolutionised how society communicates. Knee-jerk, ill-informed responses are unhelpful; what we need is solid data, multi-sourced research, and fact-based information. These are the tools we use at EdDesk as we cover these and other educational issues over the coming months.

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