The phone dilemma

Cell Phones are everywhere. In fact, many of the people reading this are doing so on their phones, possibly procrastinating.

No matter the reason, it’s impossible to escape from their influence. Phones are used in a variety of ways, allowing for faster communication between people, entertainment, and most importantly, to learn. But right there is the problem. Students of all ages have the ability to misuse these tools. So let us go over the both sides of this argument: Should Students be allowed to have phones in class? The most common thing for those who defend it to say is, how am I supposed to contact my family, child and/or friend in case of an emergency? As of 2014, according to the Pew Research Center on their “ Mobile Technology Fact Sheet”, 81% of Americans use their phones to send texts.

For many people, if their loved one is in possible danger, they freak out. But there is a thin line between caring and clinging. If a loved one is in need to constantly check up with a person, that may not be a healthy relationship. Those who oppose it say that phones can be used to communicate about test scores. While many students could use their phones to cheat, those for it claim that it is a lack of trust between teachers and students.

Whatever the case, phones can be used in a variety of ways. According to Brian Shane, students can use phones to look up a word they don’t understand, or to take a picture of an assignment or lesson. Phones are special in that way: they can help people learn, but can also prevent learning. Phones don’t just affect learning in school however, many people use phones to procrastinate. One thing it could be used for however is listening to music.

According to the article “ Do or Don’t: Studying While Listening to Music” by Elana Goodwin of Uloop on January 31st, 2015, music has the ability to help people improve memory, attention, and help lessen depression and anxiety. If people play songs on their phones while doing homework, they can associate it with what was learned. This is a skill I would like to see used. This subject is difficult to interpret. Both sides of the argument are really strong. The use of phones to help in school is controversial, because of the interaction of communicating with students or parents, or the lack of trust between students and teachers.

There is also the use of phones for research or for entertainment. But phones should be allowed to help in school. There are problems such as possible cheating and over communicated relationships, but those are outweighed by the upsides. Perhaps we will see some restrictions? But I think we will see a lot more varied uses for cellphones in the future.