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The recent student backlash over Kwun Tong Maryknoll College’s strict phone-free policy has reignited a vital debate in Hong Kong: not whether young people should use phones, but how and when schools should allow them.

Many schools already ask students to switch devices off or keep them away, but the Maryknoll case stands out because it goes further by banning phone use for Form 3 and 4 students on campus, storing devices in lockers and imposing four demerits and possible confiscation for violations. The school’s intention is clear: to reduce distraction, encourage self-discipline and cut down theft. Yet students argue that the policy arrived without enough consultation, was unreasonable and could make it harder to reach family in an emergency.

As an educator, I understand both sides. The evidence on smartphones is mixed: they connect students to information and support networks, but they also fuel distraction, deepen social‑media‑related anxiety and encourage what researchers call “continuous partial attention”.

In Hong Kong, where students already spend long hours on screens, a school that deliberately carves out a device‑free zone can create rare space for focus, conversation and presence. Just walk through the MTR in the morning and you will see how many students arrive at school already mentally “glued” to their phones, their attention frayed before the first lesson even begins.

The link to mental health is hard to ignore. Recent data show that the number of Hong Kong secondary students being diagnosed with mental illness has doubled over the past five years. It is increasingly plausible that excessive screen time, phone addiction and social-media pressure are playing a role in eroding students’ psychological well-being. A no-phone policy on school premises is therefore not just about classroom discipline; it is also a preventive step towards protecting mental health in a generation that is already highly connected and often highly stressed.