When I first entered my first college class, I watched as students checked their phones, unaware of their current surroundings. They were either checking their Instagram feed, Snapchats, missed phone calls or texts. However, when the professor first came to class, most students did not even look up to notice that class was about to begin. When the teacher started to speak, the students did not listen as they still had their headphones in their ears as they listened to music. Students are focused on the outside world and do not focus on their own lives. By focusing on other people’s lives, they are unable to reach their full potential. Students in the class are distracted by alerts and notifications. This disallows them to focus for long periods of time and their grades end up suffering as they do not focus as much in class. Most students are afraid of not replying to a text, call or being informed about a certain event which causes them to check their phone more often, which then makes it hard to study. Unfortunately, as a result, their grades drop, and they are unable to get the grades they want in school.
Even though people believe smartphones help students learn more as it is a more interactive way to learn, they actually end up hurting the student’s focus and the students who are sitting around them. In a study, students were asked how many times they have sent or received a text message in class. The results showed that “about ninety-two percent sent or received a message in class once a day” (Bohander 5). Not only do they affect their own concentration, but they also hurt the students sitting around them. Even though most teachers have a no cell phone policy during class, they are not afraid of taking a risk to check their phones so they can reply to their friend’s message. They are forced to check as their anxiety rises to a point where they need to read the message, otherwise, they will be speculating what has been sent to them.
A student’s anxiety comes hand in hand with the increased usage of smartphones. In another study done by Bernie McCoy, college students use their phones an average of “eleven point forty two times each class for reasons other than class purposes” (McCoy 12). Most students get distracted by their phones, especially when the class is not an interesting subject for them. They check their phones out of lack of interest in the subject. However, students should know that for thousands of years people have prevailed and lived perfectly good lives without a smartphone device. Therefore, students who are not constantly on their phone are more relaxed as they do not need to worry about what people are doing in their lives.
I know that it can be difficult to focus and give one hundred percent of your attention in some classes. With the addition of my phone buzzing in class, my attention span decreases to the point where I am wondering who texted or sent me a message which I need to reply to. Most of my friends like calling me and talking to me over facetime for hours as they get bored in college. I know that if I do not answer them, then they will find another person to talk to and I will be left alone. However, I enjoy talking to them as I can talk to them about my day and we can give each other advice on what to do. But deep down, I know I am losing valuable time where I could be studying for a certain class or writing an essay. In order to combat this problem, I try to finish my work in advance so I can allocate some time to speak to them. However, I know I need A’s in my classes to get a good grade point average, so I set my priorities and focus on school work first.
People have come to rely on technology. However, when there is a power outage or cell phone services do not work, people start to freak out. This is especially true with location services, where family members can track a person’s location at any given second. The only way the phone’s location cannot be checked is when the phone is dead, which is not a rare occurrence given that many people use their phones until its death. One day, as I was coming back with friends from Los Angeles, my phone died as I had taken a lot of pictures and videos. Also, since I was carpooling with someone, I was unable to charge my phone in the car so if anyone tried to check my location, it would show that I was in Los Angeles. So, my phone died, and I knew my parents were tracking me since it was late. They tried to call me, but it would go straight to the answering machine. One of the main problems was that on the news, there were a lot of reports on accidents which were happening in the Los Angeles area as it was raining that night. So, my phone location was stuck in Los Angeles and they knew that I should have already been on my way back. When I finally arrived home, I saw them getting ready to come and pick me up as they feared the worst. They had even called the police asking about potential accidents in the downtown Los Angeles area. Even though I arrived home on time, technology was showing my parents that I was still stuck in Los Angeles. Their dependency on technology led them to worry when in reality there was nothing wrong and I was perfectly fine. Even though location services can be beneficial during certain times, they can also make someone anxious for no absolute reason.
I think everyone should try and put their phone away for a couple of hours. It will really help you relieve a lot of stress. When you do not have your phone, there is no pressure to reply to calls, texts or notifications. I know that when I need to study for an upcoming exam or need to write a paper, I put my phone in another room as I know I will be tempted to check my Instagram or Snapchat. People were able to live normal lives even without smartphones, so why can we not do the same? If you put your phone away for at least an hour a day, you will be able to present in the moment and enjoy your life to its fullest.
Works Cited
- Bohander, Robert. “The Use and Abuse of Cell Phones and Text Messaging in the Classroom. A Survey of Students.” College Teaching. Winter 2013. Accessed 13 January 2019.
- McCoy, Bernie R. “Digital Distractions in the Classroom: Student Classroom Use of Digital Devices for Non-Class Purposes.” University of Nebraska. 16 January 2016. Accessed 13 January 2019.
