The use of technology has permeated every aspect of life, particularly for young people who have grown up with computers, cell phones, and tablets. Technology may be harmful to students’ ability to concentrate and study during school hours, even though it has many positive effects on education, such as making online learning easier. Specifically, pupils who use social media and personal devices in class get distracted and do worse academically. Therefore, in order to promote a better learning environment, schools need to prohibit or limit the use of technology during class time. This article will make the case that prohibiting technology usage in the classroom, particularly the use of cell phones, is essential because it increases student focus, lowers the incidence of cyberbullying, and guarantees that technology is utilized effectively for teaching.
Arguments
The fact that technology usage might impair students’ ability to concentrate and focus during school hours is one of the main arguments against it. Personal technology gadgets are a continual source of distractions that impair focus. Social networking applications, for instance, are made with the purpose of being continuously distracting and addicting. Students’ attention to the instructor and course material is positively impacted if they have supervised access to their phones and applications during class. According to research, using technology while multitasking during class reduces understanding and memory of the material (Grigic et al. 10). Students who have divided attention find it more difficult to engage with complicated content or to think deeply. Restricting social media use and banning cell phones during class hours helps pupils focus, pay attention to what is being taught, and learn without being distracted. Since focus is essential for academic achievement, reducing technology use helps students perform better.
At the same time, students often get disrupted by things such as social media. The use of social media is quite addictive since the students may not know how to create a boundary on its use. For most students, they may want to extend its use even during school hours which is disruptive to their performance. In a bid to look out for them, it is necessary to focus on the downsides of technology among students during school hours. One of the reasons that technology should not be used during school hours is the loss of concentration among the students (Grigic et al. 2). They may begin scrolling on their timelines and ultimately need to remember the most important part of its use: their education. Social media is a distractive part of society and is among the major causes of mental health issues among the younger generation. Most times, people often post an insignificant part of their lives, which students may not understand. It is quite common for them to start comparing their lives with those of online personalities. Given that it is almost impossible for them to match such levels, especially if they come from a not well-to-do family, the students may begin to get resentful.
Moreover, UNESCO has also joined the discussion on the use of mobile phones during school hours. As an institution that aims to improve the education system, they also agree that the use of technology is a distraction that should be avoided (Buttler et al., n.p). Most schools may have policies on the use of mobile phones. Regardless of how robust they are, it may only be partially possible to tame how the students use them during school hours. Students who are not able to fully focus on their studies will most certainly encounter a strain on their academic performance. This creates more stress and pressure on them, as it is natural for students to worry about their performance.
Since there is a risk of becoming addicted, students may not adequately follow through on measures that would help improve their grades. Ideally, technology ought to be banned during school hours since it creates a bad learning environment for the students. This beats the purpose that school is meant for, as it is an institution that should allow students to indulge in their studies without any disruption. Its use also poses a significant risk to cyberbullying, which is a major issue in the modern world (Selwyn et al., 8). This is particularly more common when parents and guardians are not able to monitor and control what content their children consume on their phones.
While there are proven concerns that justify the banning of technology use during school hours, many concerns have been raised to counter the proposal. Some parents have questioned this move, stating that their children sometimes use their phones as a payment option when going to school (Grigic Magnusson, 15). In this case, it may be difficult for them to commute, especially when they do not have anyone to drop them off at school. Another major concern is the need for more communication with their parents during the day. For some parents, checking in on their children in the middle of the day is a major part of their routine. They always want to know how their children are doing and if they are facing any challenges. While they may agree with the banning of technology during school hours, they have also argued that it remains an important part of life in the modern world. Therefore, they have called for the implementation of ways to ensure that learning and technology coexist, with none of them affecting the other.
Counterargument
Banning technology from schools is very demanding and closes off vital lines of connection for pupils. They assert that a lot of pupils use their phones to schedule transportation or communicate with their parents throughout the school day. It is also common for parents to desire to be able to contact their children to see how they are doing. Although these are legitimate worries, schools may set policies that let students who use phones for emergencies or travel get special authorization (Carver 113). When needed, phones may be checked in and out at the main office or stored in lockers. It is still feasible to restrict personally distracting technologies while allowing essential communication with acceptable concessions.
In conclusion, limiting or outlawing the use of social media and cell phones in the classroom will help pupils study more effectively. In actuality, technology can be quite distracting, particularly social media sites that aim to create bad habits. Eliminating these disturbances enables kids to concentrate better in class, assimilate knowledge more efficiently, think more deeply, and succeed academically. Setting limits on technology usage in the classroom improves the learning environment, even if technology has a role in education. Schools are able to limit students’ use of technology without sacrificing their needs if they implement sensible restrictions. It merely makes sense to restrict mobile devices during school hours for the sake of learning and student welfare.
Works Cited
Buttler, Patrick, and Hibaq Faraq. “‘Put Learners First’: UNESCO Calls for Global Ban on Smartphones in Schools.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 25 July 2023, www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/26/put-learners-first-UNESCO-calls-for-global-ban-on-smartphones-in-schools#:~:text=Based%20on%20its%20analysis%20of,bring%20in%20restrictions%20from%202024. Accessed 15 February 2024
Carver, Lin B. “Teacher perception of barriers and benefits in K-12 technology usage.” Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology-TOJET 15.1 (2016): 110-116.
Grigic Magnusson, Anita, et al. “Complexities of Managing a Mobile Phone Ban in the Digitalized Schools’ Classroom.” Computers in the Schools (2023): 1-21.
Selwyn, Neil, and Jesper Aagaard. “Banning mobile phones from classrooms—An opportunity to advance understandings of technology addiction, distraction and cyberbullying.” British journal of educational technology 52.1 (2021): 8-19.
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