Struggling pupils most likely to have negative phone experiences – study

Secondary pupils who say they are struggling academically at school are more likely to report having more negative experiences on their phones, a study has found.

Students were particularly likely to have encountered content involving eating disorders, self-harm and suicide, and upsetting messages in online chat groups with other pupils if they said they were struggling compared with if they said they were thriving or “coasting” at school, the research by UWE Bristol academics found.

The study, which surveyed 3,721 secondary pupils at six schools in and around Bristol, asked students whether they were “thriving”, “coasting, or “struggling” at school.

Pupils were most likely to report themselves as coasting (52%). Only 10% said they were struggling at school.

Senior lecturer at UWE Bristol’s School of Education and Childhood and study author Dr Ben Knight said young people who are struggling are likely to be experiencing several forms of struggle.

“It may not be a surprise, therefore, that they report higher degrees of challenge associated with their smartphone and social media use. In this context, we see this cohort as being particularly vulnerable to the most troubling dimensions of smartphone use,” he added.

Researchers also found a disconnect between the concerns parents had over their children’s phone use, and the negative experiences students actually reported.

The 1,595 parents that were also surveyed as part of the study overestimated problems their children were experiencing around being ignored or left out, receiving nasty messages, having sleep problems, or having drama with friends, researchers said.

However, parents underestimated the extent to which their children reported seeing disturbing and illegal content, suicide and self harm content, eating disorder content, and being contacted by strangers.

Dr Paul Redford, study co-author and associate professor, said: “The overall picture is that there are much more serious negative things going on with young people and their smartphones than parents are aware of.”

Dr Knight said the disconnect is likely a result of what children are and are not sharing with parents.

“There’s a great deal more at stake for the young people than there is for the parents. They could be thinking ‘If my parents or teachers were aware of the extent to which I’m seeing certain content, then maybe they take my phone away’,” he said.

Students reported they were most likely to have negative experiences on their phones through group chats, followed by on social media.

The study also surveyed 352 secondary school teachers across the schools, and found more than 70% reported having seen pupils tired thanks to phone use.

Seven in 10 also said they had witnessed conflict in school that started outside school because of phones, and 65% said they had witnessed bullying because of phone use.

Teachers and parents surveyed were broadly in favour of stricter rules on school phone use or keeping rules the same, while more than half (58%) of students said they would like more leniency on phone use at schools.

Young people who said they were struggling were the most likely to say they would like to see more lenient rules around school phone use.

A survey by the Children’s Commissioner earlier this year found 90% of secondary schools and 99.8% of primary schools already have policies in place to stop the use of phones during the school day.

However, the survey found around 10% of secondary schools allowed pupils to use their phones at some point during the school day.

Technology Secretary Peter Kyle has previously said children could face a limit on using social media apps. Sky reported a two-hour cap per platform is being considered.

Published: 30/09/2025 by Radio NewsHub