By: Lexie Corcoran
When our parents went to school, the only distractions were doodling and passing notes. Most schools today use technology on a daily basis. It allows for students to access the world at just click of a button. Though it can be useful, it creates a world of distractions for students; from texting to tweeting, there is no way students can resist the temptation that is technology. Technology is a distraction and should not be as predominantly used in the classroom.
While technology offers many benefits, it also proves to have many flaws. Cengage Learning, an educational content, technology, and services company, has researched some of the flaws finding, the biggest misuse of technology is texting (60%), social media (59%), gaming (45%), search (25%). These misuses are constantly challenging the learning process and hurting student productivity. Even when the teacher creates an engaging lesson, the constant buzzing in their pockets take their attention away from the task.
A recent study for the The Plateau Effect, “demonstrated that some students, even when on their best behavior, can’t concentrate on homework for more than two minutes without distracting themselves by using social media or writing an email.” The main problem is that along with easy access to applicable knowledge, there are many temptations that can distract you from the task at hand.
One of the biggest distractions for students is social media. Because social media is so prominent in today’s society, students feel the need to be connected at all times taking their attention away from their school work. As stated in the Social Times, “It’s estimated that the average American spends nearly one quarter of their work day browsing social media for non-work related activities.”
The frequent use of technology everywhere we go, has lead us to regularly check up on texts and social media which we now believe is the new norm. This behavior makes it difficult for students to separate their schoolwork from the personal distractions they find so satisfying.
Rather than walk away from the use of technology in school as a way to minimize distractions, we need to become more disciplined in the way we use it throughout the school day. When we are in class or studying at home, we must stay focused on completing specific tasks without distractions. Once completed, and at set times throughout the day, we can then allow ourselves to be distracted by outlets such as social media, texting, etc. These two behaviors can coexist and when used together can enable us to be both productive and personally satisfied.
