Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Social affairs myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.Since September, Thomas Mills High School in Framlingham, Suffolk, has been a “phone-free school”. Pupils are asked to put their smartphones in lockers at the start of the day and only collect them when the final bell rings.A number of UK schools are now following suit by imposing rules and bans on smartphones, as research shows they are driving an increase in eating disorders, depression and anxiety among young people.“A growing body of evidence is showing that smartphones, and social media in particular, are negatively impacting children’s mental health, sleep and learning,” said Josh MacAlister, a Labour MP and former teacher.MacAlister has introduced a “safer phones” private members’ bill that proposed to ban smartphones in schools. The government has not backed that measure, but the MP says it is “open-minded” on other sections of the bill, intended to make smartphones less addictive for children. He hopes the House of Commons will vote it through next year. Research this year has also found that teenagers who use smartphones excessively are almost twice as likely to have anxiety as those who don’t. A study by the University of Oxford has found social media use in teens is strongly correlated with poor mental health.However, there is arguably a role for phones in schools; for many kids, smartphones are now an essential part of communicating with parents and peers, helping to keep students connected. So what do you think — should smartphones be banned in schools outright? Or does that go too far? Tell us your views by voting in our poll or commenting below the line.
