The ACT is lagging behind other states with its policies on phones in schools

It's one physical effect of smartphones in schools: less exercise. Add to that a loss of inventive play and blue-sky dreaming. And, at the extreme end add conflict between students, emotional distress, being distracted to the point of not being able to focus in class, and absenteeism.

The experience differs between girls and boys. Girls are on social media platforms for longer - where they compare themselves and compete for likes. Boys are there too, of course, with too many under the spell of influencers like Andrew Tate; men who model toxic masculinity. Boys are more likely than girls to play addictive and adrenaline-rushing video games (where negative stereotypes thrive). They are also more likely to be exposed to and share porn.

The ACT used to be one of the leading jurisdictions in Australia in terms of safety concerning computer technology and handheld devices. It isn't now.

The evidence is conclusive. Phone-free classrooms allow staff to focus on educating students and reduce behavioural problems.

Bureaucrats and parliamentarians get it - elsewhere. Tasmania and Victoria have total bans on mobile phone use by students at all levels of public school. South Australia and NSW have primary schools bans and are under pressure to widen it to high schools following the success of bans on some campuses (Davidson High in Sydney reports dramatic improvements - a 90 per cent reduction in behavioural issues related to phones in the school).

Western Australia has an active ban in primary schools and a secondary school requirement for phones to be stored away until the end of the day. All policies have the same objective - to improve student engagement, remove distractions, and support respectful socialisation.

The ACT is behind other states.

The Education Directorate leaves it up to individual school communities to establish the rules and consult with students, parents and caretakers. On the plus side, the ACT has a suite of e-safety and digital literacy resources however uptake is unclear.

On the minus side, schools enjoy but are also burdened by their relative autonomy which forces each school (now faced with critical teacher shortages) to find the time and energy to research, deliberate and embed a practice rather than get what the Directorate can and should offer: a clear and uniform directive.

In our view, ACT public schools have been too slow to adopt mobile phone off-and-away policies from first bell to last - to create a respectful environment conducive to learning and real-world socialising.

Some high schools have rules that stipulate phones are not to be used in class as a rule, but can be used at break times. Those breaks are when students have an opportunity to be active and develop social skills they do not learn online.

Oddly, a common excuse for not banning phones is that students are too addicted to do without them. Another (still weaker) excuse is that parents need phones to want to be able to contact their children at school.

That's what the front office is for.

The pandemic seems to have deepened digital addiction. Home-learning has tethered students to screens more than ever before.

Banning phones from the start of the school day to the end would be an investment in students' mental health.

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The Bureau of Statistics reports that 39 per cent of young Australians aged 16 to 24 have mental health problems, up from 25 per cent before hand-held devices were common in 2007.

It is hard to know how big a role digital devices have played in this, or in exacerbating some of the other drivers of poor mental health from loneliness to suicidal ideation. Certainly, it amplifies negative self-image and is used as a tool for cyber-bullying and shaming .

Like all experiences this is gendered, and we worry about the digital world having an ideological frame that undoes years of feminism.

Creating balance on and off-screen is challenging. There are benefits and costs. But the ACT government needs to do more to support schools to do better.

The territory prides itself on its approach to human rights and its development of a wellbeing budget framework. Yet to date neither the Education Minister Yvette Berry, Mental Health Minister Emma Davidson nor the Directorate have shown urgency acting on the evidence of what works.

Many parents we talk to are appalled at the lack of boundaries around phone use. Many teachers we talk to would rather they were instructed to enforce a ban rather than half-way rules developed school by school.

Typically, students sign a responsible tech-use document at the start of each school year, but there are few consequences if students act irresponsibly.

Staff in the Directorate responsible for digital strategy have been open to hearing parents' concerns, and say they are working on better support for students, backed by the eSafety Commissioner and Australian Federal Police.

Still, the slow movement, in the interest of students, is hard to fathom.