73% of respondents are in favor of banning smartphones in schools, 21% think otherwise. The youngest respondents are most often against it, while the oldest respondents are in favor – according to the CBOS poll.
CBOS reminds that national law does not regulate the use of smartphones by students in schools and other educational institutions. They establish these rules on their own.
In a survey conducted in early March 2025, CBOS asked respondents whether they believed there should be a ban on using smartphones in schools and educational institutions. 73% of respondents responded positively, including 47% who said “definitely yes” and 26% who said “rather yes”. 21 respondents had the opposite opinion, including 14% who chose the answer “rather no” and 7% who said “definitely no”. 6% of respondents had no opinion.
According to 71% of respondents, a better solution would be to introduce general, uniform regulations for students' use of smartphones in all schools in Poland. 25% of respondents believe that it would be better if each school established its own rules for using smartphones. 4% chose the answer “hard to say”.
If we combine the answers to both questions, then – as reported by CBOS – a picture of society emerges in which 56% are people who support a ban on the use of smartphones in schools and at the same time opt for a solution to this issue at the systemic level. 13% are for the lack of such a ban in all schools in Poland. 16% are for a ban on the use of smartphones in schools, which each school should regulate independently. 8% are for the sovereignty of schools, although they generally oppose the ban.
The CBOS analysis shows that the presence of children under the age of 18 in a household does not, in principle, translate into assessments in this matter. It can only be noted that the opinions of people from households without children are less developed (a higher percentage of “hard to say” answers).
The factor that has the greatest impact is the age of the respondents. The lack of such a ban at the national level is most often indicated by respondents under 25 years of age. This is the only group in which support for a ban on the use of smartphones in all schools in the country does not prevail. In turn, older respondents (55 plus), especially those over 64 years of age, are most often in favor of such a solution.
Opinions on the use of smartphones in schools are not influenced by the political views of the respondents. In the discussion of the results of the study, we read that there is a slightly higher opposition to a general ban on the use of smartphones in schools among the electorate of the Confederation of Freedom and Independence, which – as noted – is probably due to the fact that supporters of this group are on average younger than supporters of Law and Justice or the Civic Coalition.
Similarly, among voters of the latter two parties, the nationwide ban on smartphone use in educational institutions is met with slightly greater than average approval, which also corresponds to the higher average age of these electorates.
The survey was conducted from 6 to 16 March 2025 on a sample of 1,047 adult residents of Poland drawn from the PESEL register. Each respondent chose one of the survey methods: 62.3% chose a direct interview with the participation of an interviewer (CAPI method), 23.6% – a telephone interview after contacting a CBOS interviewer (CATI), 14.1% – independent completion of an online survey (CAWI). In all three cases, the survey had the same set of questions and structure. (PAP)
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