Smartphones Should Be Banned in Schools Essay Example

I have a prediction. In the near future, school life will no longer resemble what it is now. Gone will be the lively, mindless chatter along the hallways. In its place, there will only be bleak, deafening and unbearable silence. 

Why, you may ask? Smartphones. Smartphones are the root cause of social disconnection between teenagers and distraction from their academics.

When Steve Jobs launched the first-ever iPhone, he wanted to bring people closer rather than further apart. However, in allowing smartphones in school, the exact opposite effect will be created. School enables children to have face-to-face contact with other people. It prepares them with first-hand experience on interpersonal relationships. Nonetheless, if smartphones are allowed in schools, many children will opt to go on messaging on their phones instead of communicating with their classmates verbally. As a result, a lot of young people often feel alienated and isolated from their peers. 

According to a study by Professor Jean Twenge at San Diego State University, as the popularity of smartphones skyrocketed over the past decade, the loneliness rates among teens have catapulted simultaneously. The unrelenting surge in depression among teenagers is utterly alarming. The cause of this phenomenon, Twenge found, is the limited in-person interactions between teenagers nowadays. Therefore, if smartphones become a constant in schools, they will only be another roadblock to healthy communication between young people. They will only fuel social isolation among students and thereby compromise their social lives. In fact, smartphones should be a contraband in schools, not a learning aid.

Every student in my school is equipped with an iPad for learning purposes. However, over time, I have noticed that the tablet does more harm than good. During lessons, the learning aid typically serves as a distraction to students: video games, social media, streaming services… These are all the best rabbit holes to fall into, the best content available to save us from the monotonous lesson. Yet, once we start going on our iPads, it becomes physically impossible for us to tear our eyes off our screens. Hence, we can envision what it would be like if smartphones are not prohibited on school grounds. The impacts are detrimental.

Professor Jeffrey H. Kuznekoff from Ohio University assessed the effect of mobile phone usage on university students’ learning progress. Unsurprisingly, he discovered that students who were not using their smartphones during their lecture were able to write down 62% more information on their notes. In addition, they were able to score a grade and a half higher on a test than the students who were distracted by their mobile phones throughout the lecture. Evidently, this study showcases the dire consequences the presence of a smartphone can have on an individual’s learning progress and therefore forewarns us about the profound dangers of enabling smartphones in schools.  

Nevertheless, some may argue that the use of smartphones fosters students’ self-discipline. While I cannot doubt that this may ring true for some students, this sounds more like a far-fetched pipe dream for the majority. A study conducted in 2016 by Professor San Bolkan and Professor Darrin J. Griffin pointed out that more than 90% of students use technology in class for purposes unrelated to learning. If only less than 10% of students can restrain themselves from technology in class, how many students can actually exercise adequate self-discipline and benefit from bringing their smartphones to school? 

In conclusion, smartphones should be banned on school grounds before the invigorating and stimulating chatter along the hallways fade away. We must be vigilant before the device impairs youngsters academically, cripples them socially and overwhelms them mentally.