Phones Distract

Phones Distract

How long has it been since you’ve looked at your phone? one minute, maybe two? You could be reading this on your phone as we speak. In today’s up-to-date and speedy society phones have very quickly taken a cozy place in people’s lives. As their companion, anxiety sponge, and most important item. They are very useful indeed, however, do they do more harm than good?

In regards to the safety and health of our youth and current students, I believe they can cause more serious long term effects and actions towards reducing the exposure of them should be a top priority, not to be put on the back burner.

Some unavoidable behavioral habits such as smaller attention spans and inability to problem-solve are becoming more and more common. In a study done by the author’s Deborah R. Tindell and Robert W. Bohlander, they found that over the 269 colleges they surveyed, 95% percent of students had phones with them, and 92% even used them during class. It has become increasingly common to own a phone in your adolescence. Most students if not all will have their phone present, but not a pencil. While there are guidelines set in place in almost every school, each classroom is different. Some students are not engaged in the majority of a class, some get into altercations with faculty about the fact that their phones must be given up.

Now some are adamant that the phone is their individual property, and that the phone is not the problem the student is. The simple fact is that your parents sign papers giving us permission to confiscate said phones if need be, so it can become our property if you are misusing it. In regards to the student, students become less motivated and don’t learn correctly if they know they have the ability to search up answers. So once again, the problem falls back to the phone. It is a continual distraction.

Some solutions to this modern crisis are to start with the most impressionable generations first. Teach them to respect themselves and the technology that is given. A study conducted in 2010 revealed that children are far more susceptible to the harmful effects of cell phone radiation when compared to adults. This is due to their proportionally smaller heads and brain. 

We view addictions as a serious problem, we create refuges for people who want to change and seek freedom from the claws of something they know they cant get away from. SO why do we still allow students to stay clung to their devices? Where we have the power we must act, this is the reason I believe phones should be taken up, taken away, and spaced from students and youth.