Students today are constantly surrounded by screens, whether it’s their phones, chromebooks, or TVs. While technology can have some benefits for students, it is also one of students biggest distractions when it comes to completing their work. Many students have normalized spending so much time on their devices that they do not realize how much time they spend and the distractions that come from technology.
In a survey of NHS students from all grades, 100% of students said they have been distracted by their phones while doing homework. “I will quickly go on my phone to check a notification and then all the sudden it’s an hour later and I haven’t gotten any of my work done,” said senior Scarlett Williams. These distractions are not just something that distracts students occasionally, most students experience these distractions every single day.
This survey also showed that students spend significant amounts of time on their phones. 62.5% of students said they have at least 5 hours of screen time per day. On these devices, 62.5% of students use their devices for social media and 37.5% said they use it to watch shows or other media. This shows that students are not using devices in an educational way, but for entertainment.
Spending time on screens does not just affect students’ educations, but also their personal habits. In the survey, 100% of students reported that they check their phones as soon as they wake up. Immediately starting the day on screens can be damaging, especially for young students.
Many students are aware of the negative effects that come from their screen time use. 87.5% of students said that they believe their grades would improve if they spent less time on their phones and 100% of students said they spend too much time on screens. Although students understand that this may be an issue, in a world that is so technology driven, it can be difficult to cut down on screen time.
Through this survey, we can conclude that screen time plays a major role in students’ daily lives and academic performance. Although technology will never go away, we can come up with ways to hopefully reduce distractions to help students focus on school.
