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Smartphone Bans, Student Outcomes and Mental Health

Abrahamsson 2024 · natural experiment (no random assignment) · touches 2 claims · used in 1 correction to our notes

Which beliefs it touches

C6 Phones in lessons sets a limit on it
Norway, lower secondary (full text of the 2024 discussion paper): no average effect on GPA, teacher grades or track; girls gained (GPA +0.08 SD, externally marked maths up to +0.22 SD four years on), more where phones were handed in or kept out; the author cannot reject that girls' and boys' effects are equal. Full text checked 2026-11-13.
C36 Phone bans and lower achievers sets a limit on it
Norway lower secondary (full text of the 2024 discussion paper): average effect null; girls gained on GPA (+0.08 SD), teacher grades and externally marked maths, more so for girls from lower-SES homes, but the author cannot reject equal effects for girls and boys. Split is by gender and father's education, not prior test scores, so it is a related pattern rather than a direct test of C36. Full text checked 2026-11-13.