Alex’s Take on Phone Use

To be honest, I am sort of a phone addict.

In the last week, I have averaged 5 hours and 6 minutes of phone time per day. That’s a lot of time on my phone. Snapchat and Instagram take up the majority of my time. I totalled a combined 18 hours and 2 minutes of time on those two applications.

According to a 2016 survey from Common Sense Media, I’m not alone. Half of the teenagers surveyed said that they felt addicted to their phones, and seventy-eight percent of them stated that they used their phones on an hourly basis.

Studies have shown that phones use is addictive, and it is obvious that students have trouble paying attention in school because of this. Maybe it would be best for both sides if schools were to prohibit phone use.

Michael’s Experience

The Glen Echo wanted to see how often students used their phones on a daily basis, so we took the matter into our own hands. I charted my phone use one day in school. Throughout the day, my phone was used multiple occasions for mainly texting, social media, and music streaming.

I am really grateful to have a phone. Despite it being a great way to communicate, it is a big distraction. When keeping track of my limited phone time, I realized that using my phone isn’t really that necessary. Honestly, I liked it a lot because was more social in school and better- prepared to work in my classes.

The truth is that people overuse their phones, as they are on them during many unnecessary times during the day. We would be better off if we cut down our phone use. They don’t have to be completely taken away, but rather put into moderation.

School Computers

Glen Rock high schoolers have access to EliteBook Microsoft computers. This is a big privilege and it makes work inside and outside of school much easier. In school, a lot of websites are blocked… but not all. Students still have access to many websites that can be seen as distractions during school.

When not on their phones, many students resort to computer games and other unnecessary websites during down time in their school days. Instead of studying or getting ahead on assignments, many students will turn prioritize the use of these unnecessary websites.

Our Solution…

Addiction to electronics is a real thing. According to Pew Research Center, in 2015 twenty-four percent of students surveyed said that they were constantly online. Maybe it is more difficult to solve these problems outside of school, but there are school policies that can be created to help students cut down on these problems.

Limiting electronic usage in the school would be upsetting to many students, but it could be for the best. Schools could possibly be seeing an increase in student production by restricting access to phones and more computer websites. They don’t need to be taken away completely, but lowering the use of them could go a long way.