However, enforcing it would come with some challenges.
A new Education Review Office report says since the cellphone ban was enforced in term two last year there has been improved learning and reduced bullying in classrooms across New Zealand.
However, only half of secondary students were following the rules as fewer than 4 in 10 year 12 and 13 students were complying.
In Dunedin, St Hilda’s Collegiate and Otago Boys’ High School have been enforcing cellphone bans for the past four years.
Otago Boys’ rector Richard Hall said his school was one of the first in the country to enforce the ban and noticed an immediate effect.
"Overnight it changed the playground for the better."
There had been less cyber bullying and fewer negative interactions that came from issues with phones.
Mr Hall vividly remembers seeing 10 boys sitting beside each other glued to their phones and thinking "that’s not the place we need to be".
Parents had been supportive of the ban and found it helped them manage their sons’ screen time as well.
From a wellness perspective, Mr Hall thought the social media ban would be a good idea as well.
"I’d certainly be in favour of it as a parent and, as an educator, it definitely makes sense."
It would be useful in keeping some of the dangerous material on the internet at bay and reducing cyber-bullying further.
"The only way you can really reduce any of that stuff would be to ban the source of it, which could be social media."
However, he thought it would be incredibly difficult to enforce.
St Hilda’s principal Jackie Baron said she had noticed real benefits including increased focus and engagement in class.
She could understand that some of the older students struggled to comply with the ban because cellphone use was a type of addiction.
"We're talking about teenagers and with teenage brain development ... it's really hard for them to manage the distractions."
She said she would like to see strict regulation around age and social media use. It would be better for young people’s wellbeing and mental health.
However, she said that challenge was going up against a multibillion-dollar industry that was invested in keeping children online.
