Kids' cell phone use — some would call it an addiction — is a big concern for parents and educators. It's no surprise, then, that the idea of banning smartphones in school and at certain hours at home is growing in popularity.

But a panel of experts say this is the wrong approach. They warn that cell phone bans do little to help or protect kids from online content or teach them to be thoughtful users of digital technologies.

The international team of researchers concluded that banning cell phones won't address the privacy and safety issues they pose for children. The focus, they say, should be on restrictions that protect kids and are appropriate for their age.

Simply banning or restricting kids' smartphone use are “stop gap solutions that do little to support children's longer term healthy engagement with digital spaces…”

Instead of a simple ban, the authors say, kids need to be educated about the harms that smartphones can pose and helped to develop skills that will prepare them participate in a digital society.

It's important that children have technology-free moments and spaces, the authors argue, but blanket restrictions are “stop gap solutions that do little to support children's longer term healthy engagement with digital spaces across school, home, and other contexts, and their successful transition into adolescence and adulthood in a technology filled world.”

Pointing to recent international legislation, such as the European Union's Digital Services Act and the UK Online Safety Act, they emphasize that regulations designed to ensure children's uses of technology are compatible with their wellbeing are what are needed, not bans.

There is little evidence that smartphone bans work. Smartphone bans and restrictions designed to reduce kids' access to social media are popular, but so far there is no evidence that they are effective, researcher Victoria Goodyear, from the School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, explained.

One evaluation of school smartphone policies in England found that restricted smartphone use in schools was not associated with benefits to adolescent mental health and wellbeing, physical activity, sleep, educational attainment or classroom behavior.

Kids need to be educated about the harms that smartphones can pose and helped to develop skills that will prepare them participate in a digital society.

School restrictions were also not found to be associated with lower levels of overall phone or media use or problematic social media use.

Simply banning or policing kids' smartphone use are “stop gap solutions that do little to support children's longer term healthy engagement with digital spaces across school, home, and other contexts, and their successful transition into adolescence and adulthood in a technology filled world,” the researchers write.

They believe restrictive smartphone policies should be reevaluated, and parents and teachers be given training to better teach children why they should monitor their own smartphone use. “Ultimately, there is a need to shift debates, policies, and practices from a sole focus on restricting smartphone and social media access toward an emphasis on nurturing children's skills for healthy technology use,” the authors conclude.

The study is published in The BMJ.