Cellular phone use by Adolescents

Adolescents on their phones during class time

This rendering of Youth culture is one that is familiar to teachers and students alike. At first glance this picture shows several of the students are on their cell phones during class time, distracting themselves from class work and learning. In our modern world today, a recent study from 2015 showed that 88% of adolescents have access to a cellphone of some type, and 73% of them have a smartphone (Lenhart).  This means that most adolescent students in class will have some kind of cell phone, and I can personally observe this in my practicum classes as well, where almost every student has a smartphone of some kind with them. While it is true that cell phones can cause distractions in class, especially if it is uncontrolled or unsupervised phone use, cell phones and new technologies have their use in the classroom, and can actually be beneficial to learning. For example, a phone (or a computer) can be a useful learning tool for in class test review, where the students can use it to participate in a game of Kahoot!, which is a program that actually requires a computer or a cellular device in order to answer questions and get points (where the questions can be made by the teacher and is related to class material). In short, while unregulated use of cell phones in the classroom can be destructive to learning, completely banning their use is also the wrong way to go. Instead, teachers and educators need to find ways to incorporate this technology into their classroom, so that instead of being a detriment, it can be a useful tool to advance meaningful learning.

Works Cited list

Lenhart, Amanda. “A Majority of American Teens Report Access to a Computer, Game Console, Smartphone and a Tablet.” Pew Research Center for Internet and Technology, Pew Research Center, 9 Apr. 2015, www.pewinternet.org/2015/04/09/a-majority-of-american-teens-report-access-to-a-computer-game-console-smartphone-and-a-tablet/.