Techno-Pessimistic Shock and the Banning of Mobile Phones in Secondary Schools: The Case of Madrid

Joaquín Paredes-Labra (), Isabel Solana-Domínguez, Marco Ramos-Ramiro and Ada Freitas-Cortina
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Joaquín Paredes-Labra: Department of Didactics, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
Isabel Solana-Domínguez: School of Education and Humanities, Universidad Internacional de La Rioja, 26006 Logroño, Spain
Marco Ramos-Ramiro: Department of Education, Universidad a Distancia de Madrid, 28400 Collado Villalba, Spain
Ada Freitas-Cortina: Department of Didactics, Universidad de Valladolid, 47011 Valladolid, Spain

Social Sciences, 2025, vol. 14, issue 7, 1-16

Abstract: Over a three-year R&D project, the perception of mobile phone use in Spanish secondary schools shifted from initial tolerance to increasingly prohibitive policies. Drawing on the Actor–Network Theory, this study examines how mobile phones—alongside institutional discourses and school and family concerns—acted as dynamic actants, shaping public and political responses. The research adopted a qualitative design combining policy and media document analysis, nine semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, ten regional case studies, and twelve focus groups. The study concluded with a public multiplier event that engaged the broader educational community. The Madrid region, among the first to adopt a restrictive stance, contributed two school-based case studies and three focus groups with teachers, students, and families. Findings suggest that the turn toward prohibition was motivated less by pedagogical evidence than by cultural anxieties, consistent with what it conceptualizes as a techno-pessimistic shock. This shift mirrors the historical patterns of societal reaction to disruption and technological saturation. Rather than reinforcing binary framings of promotion versus prohibition, such moments invite critical reflection. The study argues for nuanced, evidence-based, and multilevel governance strategies to address the complex role of mobile technologies in education.

Keywords: mobile phone ban; secondary education; actor-network theory; digital policy; post-pandemic education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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