Cellphone and its effects to students

November 18, 2017 Educator's Corner Opinion

I usually commute (ride on a public vehicle) going to my work place and I observed that most of the students who are inside the jeepney are either listening to music from their cell phones through their headset, scrolling their facebook page, playing games, and texting. Seldom would I see a student scrolling on his/her notes which he/she took by the camera of his/her phone.
The impacts of cell phone to students’ lives have played an important role in making or breaking their dreams.
Studies over the past years show that nearly one in four teenagers are “almost constantly” online as their lives are swallowed up ever more by their mobile phones (Mail online, 2015). In another study by the University of Haifa (2012), 94% of high school students accessed social media on their phones during class over the past year. The most common use of the internet in class was to access social media sites, followed by listening to music, playing games, and sending text messages and photos. In every class, most of the pupils use their mobile phones, and at any given moment some of the pupils are using their mobile phones.
Not only that students get hooked into using cell phones, but this gadget also affects their academic performance. As shown in the study of Murai (2015), excessive use of mobile phones causes students to fare poorly in elementary, junior high and high school, not only because it makes them lose their concentration due to lack of sleep, but also because it apparently compromises what they have studied. Further, a research looked into the correlation between studying enthusiasm and smartphone usage. It found that using a mobile phone for an extended time even affects students who habitually study a lot. That implies a lack of sleep or reduced study time as a result of mobile phone usage is not the only way these devices affect performance at school. The study revealed that students who spent over two hours every day both studying and using messaging apps, especially the popular line, scored worse on a math exam than those who spent less than 30 minutes a day but didn’t use a smartphone at all.
Moreover, there are even instances that students use cell phones to gain “boy friends or girl friends” that may lead to early pregnancy.
If these damaging effects will go on, I am very sure that students will not reach their aspirations in life. While it is true that cell phones make communications easy. But, the impeding effect of extreme use can ruin the lives of the students.
It is then a challenge to us adults to control and to show the bad effects of not using cell phones properly. Let us join forces to let these students see and inculcate into their minds that cell phones are devices invented to advance the means of communication if used properly.

By: LESLEE B. CHOMAWIN, Doña Aurora Elementary School