"HOW ARE PHONES AFFECTING AND DISTRACTING KIDS IN SCHOOLS NOW?"--MAIA CAVAGNOLO, 6TH GRADE
Have you ever noticed how many people are secretly looking at their phone screens in class? Or that when you walk through the halls and nobody looks up? You’re not alone. OSA is not the only school to have this problem, and both students and teachers have many opinions on the dilemma of phones in school.
Part of the problem is COVID 19. During quarantine, when schools started virtual learning, the ban on devices became useless, according to many teachers at OSA. Students relied on their devices for Zoom meetings, Google Classroom, and for fun. No one could tell if you were using your computer or phone for your classwork, or a video game. So, while virtual learning didn’t necessarily start students’ attachment to their phones, it definitely heightened it. But the main question is, how are phones affecting and distracting kids in schools now?
Hayley Schoeneman, a sixth grader in Literary Arts, says that her phone doesn’t really distract her in class. “I feel like it distracts me, not as a phone, as something else. Like a book.” She says she mostly uses it for origami instructions, and does not have social media.
“I think I probably remind students [to put away their phones] a handful of times per class period. Each class period starts with a reminder, and it normally takes students a couple of minutes to put them away,” says Amanda Farmer, a sixth grade English and Social Science teacher. Even though Farmer reminds all her classes to put away phones at the beginning of class, lots of kids are still sneak texting.
“It's a distraction!” Farmer says when she is asked why phones have a negative impact. “Distracted people can't focus on the content we're learning or skills we're practicing.”
Farmer’s experience corresponds to what Doug Lemov writes in his article “Take Away Their Cellphones.” He writes, “This historic downturn in the well-being of young people coincided almost exactly with the dramatic rise of the smartphone and social media.” According to Lemov’s article, most kids use smartphones to a point that it can be considered catastrophic to health.
Different people have different opinions on what kids are using cellphones for, and what is the most addicting. Lemov writes, “Tik Tok and the latest round of social media platforms [were] carefully designed to ensure obsession and the lingering anxiety that you really ought to be checking your phone.” So social media is one thing that kids are addicted to, but Farmer has a different opinion.
“Texting, or other text-based messaging.” Farmer knows that her sixth grade students mainly use their phones for messaging. Some say that their parent was texting them, and that they had to respond, but Farmer makes the point that if it was in your bag like it was supposed to be, you wouldn’t have known it was your parent.
Not only that, but according to “Should Schools Ban Their Students from Using Cellphones?” by Meg Oliver, “Studies have shown overuse of technology can lead to less sleep, disengagement from friends and family, emotional stunting and can cause depression and anxiety." Plus, phones and social media can easily be used for cyber bullying.
As Cole Claybourn says in his article “Cellphones in Schools: What to know,” “While some educators feel there's a place for smartphones in the classroom, others see them as a distraction and source of cyber bullying.”
Parents can also help with the phone problem. Oliver states that “Parents can play a role too at home by limiting screen time with parental controls, putting their own phones away and explaining why limits are important.”
After reading this article, maybe as a student you’ll consider looking up in the hallways, or engaging in class. Maybe as a parent, you’ll add a time limit to your child’s phone, or yours. Thank you for reading this article and for hopefully engaging in the process of un-addicted people to phones.
Part of the problem is COVID 19. During quarantine, when schools started virtual learning, the ban on devices became useless, according to many teachers at OSA. Students relied on their devices for Zoom meetings, Google Classroom, and for fun. No one could tell if you were using your computer or phone for your classwork, or a video game. So, while virtual learning didn’t necessarily start students’ attachment to their phones, it definitely heightened it. But the main question is, how are phones affecting and distracting kids in schools now?
Hayley Schoeneman, a sixth grader in Literary Arts, says that her phone doesn’t really distract her in class. “I feel like it distracts me, not as a phone, as something else. Like a book.” She says she mostly uses it for origami instructions, and does not have social media.
“I think I probably remind students [to put away their phones] a handful of times per class period. Each class period starts with a reminder, and it normally takes students a couple of minutes to put them away,” says Amanda Farmer, a sixth grade English and Social Science teacher. Even though Farmer reminds all her classes to put away phones at the beginning of class, lots of kids are still sneak texting.
“It's a distraction!” Farmer says when she is asked why phones have a negative impact. “Distracted people can't focus on the content we're learning or skills we're practicing.”
Farmer’s experience corresponds to what Doug Lemov writes in his article “Take Away Their Cellphones.” He writes, “This historic downturn in the well-being of young people coincided almost exactly with the dramatic rise of the smartphone and social media.” According to Lemov’s article, most kids use smartphones to a point that it can be considered catastrophic to health.
Different people have different opinions on what kids are using cellphones for, and what is the most addicting. Lemov writes, “Tik Tok and the latest round of social media platforms [were] carefully designed to ensure obsession and the lingering anxiety that you really ought to be checking your phone.” So social media is one thing that kids are addicted to, but Farmer has a different opinion.
“Texting, or other text-based messaging.” Farmer knows that her sixth grade students mainly use their phones for messaging. Some say that their parent was texting them, and that they had to respond, but Farmer makes the point that if it was in your bag like it was supposed to be, you wouldn’t have known it was your parent.
Not only that, but according to “Should Schools Ban Their Students from Using Cellphones?” by Meg Oliver, “Studies have shown overuse of technology can lead to less sleep, disengagement from friends and family, emotional stunting and can cause depression and anxiety." Plus, phones and social media can easily be used for cyber bullying.
As Cole Claybourn says in his article “Cellphones in Schools: What to know,” “While some educators feel there's a place for smartphones in the classroom, others see them as a distraction and source of cyber bullying.”
Parents can also help with the phone problem. Oliver states that “Parents can play a role too at home by limiting screen time with parental controls, putting their own phones away and explaining why limits are important.”
After reading this article, maybe as a student you’ll consider looking up in the hallways, or engaging in class. Maybe as a parent, you’ll add a time limit to your child’s phone, or yours. Thank you for reading this article and for hopefully engaging in the process of un-addicted people to phones.
