By Yathin Karthikeyan On Feb. 6, 2024

SAN JOSE, CALIF — With technology advancing, schools rely on many devices to perform their learning. With phones being a main factor as they affect a student’s learning in a harmful way. 

We all know the feeling when your teacher tells you to get off your phone. But there really is a reason why they say that, even if you don’t like to admit it. Especially when you’re in a classroom, it distracts you from doing your work or paying attention which can lead to grades dropping and your parents upset with you.

Although phones are helpful to learning, there are lots of downsides to it that are bad. Some positive aspects of phones include being easy to use and to search up many things but it’s outweighed by the negatives, such as social media. Many students nowadays use their phones in class to text their friends or watch Tiktok during class. This behavior gets noticed and teachers place restrictions on phones in their classes due to the disrespect they feel when you disregard their teaching.

As a student myself, I spend a lot of time on my phone and relate to feeling class being boring everyday. But, one thing to realize is that being on your phone is also affecting your health mentally and physically. An article by Columbia University Department of Psychiatry about the impact of social media on students states, “Moreover, studies have shown a correlation between heavy social media use and depression, anxiety…” as well as low self-esteem and more.

Thomas Nguyen, a freshmen at Silver Creek, says, “I see students on their phones everyday, it’s like a habit. I think it’s bad for them because they miss out on assignments but they just do it for entertainment.” Multiple other students also agree that they see their classmates on their phone and just zone out or not pay attention for the whole class period. This can lead to the stress and anxiety of being behind.

With all this technology around, phones really do get in the way of a student’s education in class and in school.