The Ugly Reason Why Teachers Are Losing Student Engagement (It’s Not the Smartphones)
- The Deledao Team
- Sep 23
- 6 min read
Updated: Sep 25
At first glance, it feels obvious: smartphones are damaging student engagement. And the numbers seem to back that up. Research from 91 schools in four English cities (where 90% of teens own a smartphone) found that test scores were 6.41% higher at schools that banned smartphone use.
Remove the phones, remove the problem, right?
Not exactly.
In a recent study published by The Lancet, researchers found no evidence that restricting cellphones improved student wellbeing (or even lifted grades). So what’s the deeper issue? Why are students still distracted even when smartphones are limited?
The deeper problem: schools are struggling to keep up with the insane pace of distracting content. Take away smartphones, and there are still Chromebooks, tablets, and a constantly shifting web of content designed to pull attention away.
Let's talk about what’s actually forcing schools into a losing battle for student engagement, why constantly trying to make lessons “more engaging” is often a bandaid, and how some schools are winning back engagement.
Distracting Content Is Outpacing Schools’ Ability to Block It
Students today are far more technologically literate (and far more resourceful) than many policymakers assume. They find workarounds for filters, use VPNs, personal hotspots, or engage in multitasking (such as using browser tabs, streaming, and messaging). Think of a leaky dam: the content is pouring in, even when schools try to plug holes.
In fact, a recent survey by CDT found that approximately 75% of teachers report that students use workarounds to access unfiltered content, even under strict web filtering policies.
And who ends up paying the price? Us teachers!
Every minute spent policing filters is a minute not spent teaching, creating a lose-lose situation. Even when blocklists are well-maintained, teachers are often tied to their desks, turning around to stop a student from streaming, investigating a VPN app, or responding to chat pings.
What used to be easy to block in the early 2000s (static websites, a fixed, known list of offenders) is now vastly more complex: dynamic content, trending platforms, embedded ads, streaming, micro-content, etc. The legacy filtering systems many schools use are sadly a decade behind the distraction techniques that tech companies are engineering daily.
Always Making Lessons “More Engaging” Is a Band-Aid Solution
The go-to advice for years has been to "make your lesson plan more engaging!" More interactive, more multimedia, more games. Don’t get us wrong: these approaches help.
But let’s zoom out for a second: we’re now competing with 10-second reels, dynamic proxy game sites, 10-second reels, and AI-generated brain rot designed to hook with surprise and novelty at every turn.
The truth is that classrooms will always move at a human pace: a 45-minute lesson, discussion, or turn-and-talk will never replicate the dopamine rush of an endless, curated feed of distractions (and it shouldn't!).
“Many kids can’t handle being bored and sometimes school is boring. I work hard to have an engaging class, but I can’t compete with Fortnite,” says a teacher under a sub-Reddit.
Studies show that student attention spans are shrinking. For example, a Pew Research survey found that 72% of U.S. high school teachers report cellphone distraction as a “major problem” in classrooms. Pew Research Center
Another study in The Conversation comparing schools with and without smartphone bans in Spain and Norway noted improvements in grades and reductions in bullying. Still, these improvements came only when bans were part of a larger effort, not as stand-alone fixes.
If we rely solely on making lessons more “engaging,” we'll just burn ourselves out. Plus, teaching students to expect super-engaging lesson plans could actually stunt their ability to focus in the long run. It’s a short-term play, not a long-term strategy.
Then What About Banning Devices? Does It Work?
Yes and no. There are wins with strict device bans. A Dutch government-commissioned study (2025) found that since banning mobile devices, 75% of high schools reported improved student concentration, nearly two-thirds noted a better social climate, and about one-third saw gains in academic performance. (Reuters)
Similarly, a pilot in Bentonville, Arkansas, showed 86% of teachers thought engagement improved, socialization rose, and disciplinary referrals dropped by more than half after a cellphone ban with pouches. (Education Week)
But there are also studies that show banning cellphones by itself doesn’t move the needle on wellbeing or academic performance, especially when bans are partial or inconsistently enforced.
The University of Birmingham found no overall improvement in grades or well-being when comparing schools with bans vs. those without, unless those bans were part of broader policies. (The Guardian)
Why the discrepancy?
Enforcement matters enormously: inconsistent bans breed student resentment and workarounds.
The broader ecosystem's impacts: content outside of school, social media habits, and home screen time, all still affect attention span.
Distractions are the problem, not the device: The root cause isn’t the device; it’s actually the content and habit. Pulling the phone away is NOT the same as tearing away the pull of distraction.
The Real Reason Why Teachers Are Losing Student Engagement
The issue is more than just students lacking the ability to resist their devices. Schools are struggling to keep up with the pace of distracting content.
These schools provide their teachers outdated technologies (basic filters, blanket bans, ad hoc classroom rules) while today’s distraction environment is adaptive, immediate, and algorithmically engineered to grab attention.
Our teachers deserve more!
Constantly telling teachers to make lessons “more engaging” is like trying to turn up the volume in a noisy room: it helps, briefly, but doesn’t solve the source of the noise.
And banning devices? It may alleviate a symptom, but it doesn't address the underlying problem of student habits, content supply lines, and neural pathways conditioned by constant stimulation.
That's why some schools are winning the battle for student engagement, by leveraging tools that adapt to the pace of distracting content.
3 Reasons Why Schools Are Using AI to Recapture Student Engagement
Real-Time Proxy and Game Filtering
Legacy systems require IT directors to keep updating blocklists for every new proxy or game site teachers find. With new websites being made every minute, that’s a never-ending battle.
But AI-powered filters, like Deledao ActiveScan™, detect and block proxy sites in real time, letting teachers focus on engaging with students (no more reactive blocking). Distractions are blocked before they reach students.
A 2023 EdTech Magazine report found that adaptive AI-driven filtering increased on-task behavior by up to 30% compared to static filters.
Real-time Media filtering
Having our teachers monitor 25–30 devices for inappropriate videos and images requires teachers to be constantly vigilant during class. Does that sound engaging?
But with ActiveScan™, sites with a mix of educational and distracting content, like YouTube, don’t have to be off-limits. Instead, AI can distinguish between a math tutorial and a gaming livestream. AI automates the heavy lifting, only alerting you to issues that truly need your attention.
Learn more about the ActiveScan™ web filter
Personalized, Non-Punitive Redirection
Gone are the days of frustrating lockouts. AI-powered classroom management offers subtle nudges to guide students back to learning.
Deledao ActiveInstruct™, for instance, allows teachers to customize resources that steer students away from distractions. Imagine this: a student scrolling YouTube during class. Instead of a total lockout, Deledao quietly blurs the unrelated video so students can refocus on the assigned math tutorial.
AI-powered classroom management helps students build self-regulation skills rather than relying on external reaction.
Catch Up to Student Distractions in the Classroom Before It’s Too Late
We can’t win by playing catch-up against distraction. Remember that devices themselves aren’t the enemy. It’s the speed, design, and ubiquity of distracting content that schools have yet to adapt to fully.
Consider smarter web filtering systems that move at the speed of distraction, and tools that manage content as much as devices. Because attention spans aren’t getting longer unless we change the environment.
Our teachers and students deserve the tools built for the attention economy, as the engagement crisis deepens. If Silicon Valley is moving this fast to capture student attention, shouldn’t schools move just as fast to protect it?
