South Korea passed a bill on Wednesday to ban the use of mobile phones and other digital devices in school classrooms nationwide, as concern grows about the impact of heavy social media use among the young.

Some countries like Finland and France have banned phones on a smaller scale, applying the restriction only to schools for younger children. Others like Italy, the Netherlands and China have restricted phone use in all schools. But South Korea is among the few to enshrine such a ban in law.

South Korea has passed a bill to ban the use of mobile phones and other digital devices in school classrooms nationwide. The ban, which was passed on Wednesday but will take effect from March next year, makes South Korea the latest country to restrict the use of smartphones and social media among minors.