Denying the fact that cellular technology takes on a rampant, overflowing presence in society in the modern era which the world indulges in seems to be a tedious effort. The internet has become an ever-growing presence that manifests itself in nearly every aspect of mundane life, and with the advancements in technology, such as the iPad and laptops, to aid in the use of the internet, one would assume that this new module of information could be used to benefit of the education system.
Sadly, the research proves that nearly any time technology is brought into schools it, often, ends in chaos. In nearly every study conducted, cellphones and other smart devices have been found to be nothing more than a distraction, a liability, and in some cases a crutch that stifles the learning process. Smartphones, iPads, tablets, and laptops certainly have their places in present day society, but the classroom seems not to be one of them.
Technology advances with every new time period. From the very first telegraph to today’s latest iPhone, technology has helped to advance human society by making information more readily attainable and publishable. Within a fraction of a second, teens can nearly find any information they need online. One might question what role these astonishing devices play in the classroom.
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Some schools may decide to permit the use of mobile devices for all purposes, while other schools have their own unique regulations when it comes to the use of these devices (Russell). In almost every study conducted, from the US to the UK, every school that permits the use of cellphones either bans them after some time has passed, or the school takes precautions by setting up new policies. “According to the Department for Education, 95% of schools in England control the use of phones in some way” (Wright). The same freedom for determining what will happen with cellphones is awarded to most schools in the US as well.
While it is important for the next generation coming up to know how to effectively operate using all the new formats of data collection and analysis through the use of technology, in nearly every case where mobile phones or tablets were introduced into the hands of students, it nearly ends in disaster regarding the educating of said students (Lardieri). The main negative impacts that mobile devices bring with them are their force as a distraction, their ability to isolate students from each other, and giving students’ the opportunity to harass and cyberbully other students.
Firstly, and most “deadly” to education, when conducting a study such as this, one should look at the overwhelming force the cellphones have in schools; their ability to divert and distract. It is no secret that the average attention span of teenagers today has a very minute radius. With multiple new forms of social media and texting, teenagers can be easily overcome by their notifications and lose focus on the lesson in class. According to Hays School District’s superintendent, John Thissen, “One student’s phone was found, they lost it and had put it in the office, and it had buzzed, he said it buzzed in one hour, forty time with SnapChat messages” (School District Orders 800 Padlocks for Students’ Cell Phones).
Forty notifications within one hour! This is clear proof of the distraction that social media can become. It is important for students to understand and know what social media is and how it works due to its growing presence in the world of today (Heizer). However, students need to recognize that while they are in school, their number one priority should be to focus on the teaching and retaining of the knowledge that teachers expose them to. If students sat around all day glued into their devices for social media, it’s possible they will know what the latest social trend is, but they are unlikely to have any knowledge when it comes to their grammar skills, mathematics skills, or their historical comprehension.
Additionally, games and streaming make cell phones increasingly distracting. When students are given the freedom to choose what they wish to do with their phones, they will more than likely choose to partake in something that brings them pleasure, in this case mobile gaming or streaming music. Mobile apps jumped on the scene in smartphones years ago, and ever since they bring out addictive tendencies, ranging from young adolescents to middle aged people. Students, like most people, will want to do something that they enjoy, which in the case of mobile phones, they will want to play their games. Another aspect about cell phones that is dangerous is the streaming concern.
Now there have been multiple studies on whether listening to music improves the quality of study or concentration in students or not. Most of these studies are inconclusive. Students have a world of music open to them, and because of this readily attainable source of pleasure, students have yet another distraction that teachers must find a way to combat. In hypothetical viewpoints, one teacher allows her students, that so desire to, to listen to their music while they work. Instead of students plugging in their earphones and getting back to work, they are now wasting time finding that “right song” and setting up a playlist of their own (Lambert). This takes time out of the lesson whicihi keeps the students from learning.
An additional factor about cell phones that is distracting is that even if not all the students are on their phones, it only takes a few to mislead the class. Out of a class of thirty, if five get on their phones during a lesson, it is very likely that the rest of the class will be distracted by them rather than paying any attention to the lesson (Lardieri). As mentioned previously, students pay attention to anything that gives them pleasure, and, to a student, what could be more pleasurable than watching someone play a game or listen to “cool” music instead of listening to a lesson. This is a troubling force that teachers must learn to combat, either through complete separation of students from their phones, or certain policies that schools or teachers inforce themselves.
Finally, the observable decline in testing scores vindicates a final aspect of cell phones that is distracting. According to a study published in the journal of Educational Psychology found that students who had cell phones or laptops present while a lesson was being taught scored five percent, or half a letter grade, lower on exams than students who didn’t use electronics. Researchers undertook this study by separating 118 college students into two groups. One group, the experiment group, was allowed the privilege of smart devices for non-educational purposes.
The second group, the control group, was restricted from using cell phones for any purposes outside of academics. This study found that when it came to comprehensive tests conducted at the end of a lecture, students in both groups did fairly well. However, when exams for the end of the semester were presented, the students who had cell phones for non academic purposes scored lower than their counterparts (Lardieri). The reasoning for this decline in grades is clear; divided attention and less cognitive processing.
Divided attention is a type of simultaneous attention that allows us to process different information sources and successfully carry out multiple tasks at a time. This multi-tasking process people put on their brains is clearly a hazard when it comes to the classroom (Riutzel). Most teachers try to provide a whole lesson every day when students enter the classroom, however, if a teacher has to ‘fight’ with a cell phone for the students’ attention, it is pretty clear that he is fighting a losing battle. “The intrusion of internet-enabled devices (laptop, tablet, and cell phone) has transformed the modern college lecture into a divided attention ask (Lardieri).”
If students have no incentive to relinquish their devices, or they have no rules or policies that prevent the use of such devices, then most students will want to do what is pleasurable. The reason why cell phones are pleasurable to students is due to a psychological factor. According to Danielle Einstein, dopamine, the neurotransmitter for pleasure, has been found to release when a student plays games on their phones or use excessive messaging (qtd. in Heizer).
When students have to choose between paying attention to a lecture that is perceived by a majority as boring, or doing something pleasurable such as messaging friends or playing games, they are more likely to choose the latter of the two options. This divides students’ attention and takes away from what they remember from a teacher’s lesson. Multi-tasking is a skill some can use well, but most students do not seem to have a good grasp on its applications between listening to their phones versus their teachers.
In addition to divided attention being a reason that cell phones aid in lowering test scores, the ‘proof is in the pudding’ when it comes to the decline of cognitive thought in students in the presence of cell phones also aiding in the ruin of test scores. With the widespread tool of the internet, students can easily access nearly any vault of information for most assignments they will face in their academic careers. Due to this easy access of information, most students no longer feel the need to challenge themselves or retain any information. One concept, retention, in the psychological sense, is the persistence to perform a learned behavior (facts or experiences) after an interval has elapsed in which there has been no performance or practice of the behavior, (i.e. learning from a lesson and retaining that knowledge for later periods).
This is an important asset for students learning that is easily disrupted by divided attention, according to a study where a group of college students were divided into two groups (Riutzel). Students can see where this concept can be viewed as obsolete, but it is important for people to be able to retain information and think for themselves. If people lose this skill all together, it is quite possible the population will become sheep, relying on their devices for answers, to nearly every problem, eventually becoming detrimental to society.
Next, cell phones have the ability to isolate students from each other. It is no question that thanks to the internet and advanced cellular technology, the globe has become vastly interconnected to the point where a single post on Facebook can be seen and reacted to by over hundreds of people. However, even though tools such as social media do connect people together via cellular connections, direct or “face-to-face” communication seems to dwindle the more people become active in social media (qtd. in Heizer).
Most teenagers enjoy the use of the app SnapChat in sharing their personal lives with all their friends, but teenagers can sometimes feel awkward in communicating face-to-face. In some cases, students may completely shut themselves off from others in real life. A student’s phone may go off multiple times with notifications from texting or social media, but in person conversations are outnumbered (Hays School District Orders 800 Padlocks for Students’ Cellphones). This dissonance in communication between adolescents, and adults even, contributes to the negative isolation that is found among students who have access to their phones in schools.
In addition to isolating students from one another, cellphones also contribute to cyberbullying. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, cyberbullying is the electronic posting of mean-spirited messages about a person (such as a student) often done anonymously. Multiple events happen throughout a whole school day, and to assume that no student would make some error is irrational, wishful thinking because most people make mistakes; they are human. In some instances, students who make mistakes or errors can be ridiculed or mocked because of that.
In other cases, some people are mocked because of their own personality and preferences, and the use of cellphones allows mean-spirited students an easy gateway to harass and mock students they wish to, yet another reason why cellphones should not be used in schools. “We actually find there has been a decline in bullying between students during school hours (qtd. in Wright).” This peripheral look into the student body of Reepham High School and College in Norfolk by head teacher Timothy Gibbs after the schools implemented a ban on cellular devices proves that when phones are taken away, little squabbles between students cease and tension that leads to bullying is eased (Wright).
Now, the big question that society faces is whether cell phones can be used as a force for good or not. Looking at the research, it is apparent that whenever cell phones and other devices that are connected to the internet, students ultimately hinder and stumble in the presence of such devices. However, an aspect of technology that proves applicable in a positive sense is the fact that students can use devices to aid in scheduling homework, test dates, and help in research with the vast vault that is the internet (Should Students Have Cellphones In School? Educators Are Divided). However, teachers, as well as students, have concerns when it comes to using these devices in schools because of the temptation they provide as a distracting agent, luring students’ attention away from the lesson (Russell).
Another aspect that people will argue for cell phones in schools is the fact that students need the skill of using cell phones. In present day society, aspects of the digital world overrun people’s mundane lives; whether this rampant takeover is through social media, email, online banking, etc. People need to know how to operate in the digital world that is an ever present force in the real world, and some feel students should learn these skills in school (qtd in Heizer). On the other hand, students have ample time after school to engage in activities on their smart devices. If the skills of using smart devices are pressed on young people, it is highly likely they will ignore all contact with other sources of knowledge such as lessons being taught in school.
Cell phones and other smart devices have their role to play in modern-day society. They have the potential to be used for good and educational purposes, but considering the research clearly shows a superior negative aspect, schools seem not to be a place where phones belong. Their applications are numerous, but more often than not, these devices bring out negative qualities in students. Students become easily distracted by cell phones and their attention divides, leading to a struggle, or in some cases, complete lack of learning. Isolation and cyber bullying are also negative products of the mixture of cell phone and student. As unfortunate as it may seem, it appears that in most cases the negative byproducts of cell phones far outweigh their potential contribution to education.
Works Cited
- “Cyberbullying” Merriam-Webster, n.d., www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cyberbullying.
- “Divided Attention.” CogniFit Inc, n.d., www.cognifit.com/science/cognitive-skills/divided-attention.
- Heizer, Sophie. “What do five experts think about mobile phones in schools?” thegaurdian.com, 27 Junes 2018, www.thegaurdian.com/Australian-news/2018/juun28/what-do-five-experts-think-about-mobile-phones-in-schools.
- “Hays school district orders 800 padlocks for students’ cell phones.” kwch.com, 13 June 2017, www.kwch.com/content/news/Hays-school-district-orders-800-padlocks-for-students-cell-phones-428290833.
- Lambert, Katie. “The Cell Phone Conundrum.” Educationworld.com, n.d., www.educationworld.com/teachers/cell-phone-conundrum.
- Lardieri, Alexa. “Electronics in the Classroom Lead to Lower Test Scores.” Usnews.com, 27 July 2018, www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2018-07-27/study-cellphones-laptops-in-the-classroom-lead-to-lower-test-scores.
- Russell, Dominique. “Mobile phones in the classroom-what does the research say?” teachermagazine.com, 17 April 2018, www.teachermagazine.com.au/articles/moile-phones-in-the-classroom-what-does-the-research-say.
- “Retention (Psychology).” Refernce.MD, n.d., http://www.reference.md/files/D012/mD012153.html.
- Riutzel, Kevin. “Cellphones in classrooms contribute to failing grades: Study.” Abcnews.go.com, 27 July 2018, www.abcnews.go/Health/cellphones-classrooms-contribute-failing-grades-study/story?id=56837614.
- “School district orders 800 padlocks for students’ cellphones.” Kalb.com, 14 June 2017, www.kalb.com.content/news/428492583.
- “Should Students Have Cellphones In School? Educators Are Divided.” Wbur.org, 27 September 2017, www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2017/09/27/students-cellphones-school.
- Wright, Katie. “To ban or not to ban: Should phones be allowed in schools?” bbc.com, 20 June 2018, www.bbc.com/news/uk-44546360.
