Are Phones a Distraction?

Social media has become a borderline necessity for most Americans, and it seems people are staying on their phone 24/7. During school hours, it can easily become a distraction for a teenager to not be on their phone or look at the notification; students are just glued to their phones. Does it stop once they enter the classroom? 

While the text messages and notifications distract the student who received the notification or message, it also affects those around them. It has been proven that those who are constantly on their phone are more likely to fail a test rather than pass it. 

Jenna Mason, our Career and Tech teacher, recently conducted a study to see just how much technology can be a distraction. 

“Every semester I have to complete a unit on Computer Safety. It is a boring unit and it is part of our state standards; therefore, we have to cover it. Every semester during the notes for this unit, I find myself constantly getting after students to put their phones away. This year I wanted to try something new. I asked each class if they felt their cell phone was a distraction. Naturally, every student said no. So I decided to have every student pull out their cell phones and turn on the ringer. For the entire class period, we heard every single notification that came through on their phones. By the end of each class, I had students begging to just turn their phones off. The amount of notifications that were going off was insane. As a teacher, it is very frustrating to have a lesson planned out just to have it ruined by students that are constantly trying to check their phone and not getting the whole message,” Mason shared.

Below are the results of Ms. Mason’s survey with her three classes:

“I never realized how distracting my phone can be until I physically had to get up for every notification I had gotten throughout the class period,” commented senior Rocelyn Gonzalez 

Makayla Vasquez, a junior, added, “I never realized how many students in my class were in group chats until everyone’s phone would go off all the time.”

Ms.Mason’s study definitely demonstrates how cell phones and notifications really do affect each of us throughout the day. Want to make better grades?  It’s time to tuck them in your bookbags and back pockets for a more successful school year.