Pereira and Spanish schools implement new rules to limit student smartphone use

The municipal council of Pereira approved an agreement that requires every public school to incorporate clear regulations on the use of mobile phones and electronic devices in classrooms. The policy, authored by councilors Wilfor López and Diego Agudelo, is not a total ban but aims to reduce academic distractions and protect students' mental health. Each school has up to six months to amend its convivencia manual with the new rules.

In Spain, the Adolescencia Libre de Móviles (ALM) platform promotes voluntary family pacts that delay a child's first smartphone until age 16. A survey of over 22,000 Catalan families showed 61.7% of households with primary‑school children consider waiting appropriate, while 82.1% of secondary‑school families report giving a phone before age 12. The informal agreements rely on peer pressure among parents to normalise the decision, with the goal of reducing risks such as depression, poor sleep quality and online‑risk behaviours.