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Destini Davis

Graduation Project Research Paper

24 May 2017

Cell Phones in School

According to Talmadge Boyds article 53 Facts About Teen Mobile Usage Every Higher

Education Person Should Know, Half of teens send 50 or more text messages a day, or 1,500

texts a month, and one in three send more than 100 texts a day, or more than 3,000 texts a

month. The article further asserts 86% of girls text message friends several times a day; 64%

of boys do the same.And guess what all this occurs in the classroom at school. Cell phones

should not be allowed in the classrooms because of cheating, it is a distraction to others, and it

can cause bad grades. Cell phones are also the cause and continuation of cyberbullying episodes

during school hours. Even though some people believe cell phones have legitimate uses in

schools, cell phones should not be allowed in schools because cell phones can increase cyber

bullying among school aged children, increase student distractions, and increase academic

dishonesty.

School is important but most kids are failing due to the lack of attention that is being

given in class because they are too focused on what is going on in their cell phones. According to

research by Louis-Philippe Beland and Richard Murphy, published by the Centre for Economic

Performance at the London School of Economics,Ill Communication: The Impact of Mobile

Phones on Student Performancefound that after schools banned mobile phones, the test scores

of students aged 16 improved by 6.4%. The economists reckon that this is the equivalent of

adding five days to the school year. Cells phones should not be allowed in schools because the
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kids are only getting distracted by the cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place

using electronic technology. in this context, legitimate means being able to be defend a concept

or action with logic or justification. Dishonesty is the intention to mislead or cheat. It is vital to

understand these terms as it relates to the topic being discussed.

Cell phones can cause cyberbullying. Teens who are heavy cellphone users are more

likely than average users to be cell phone mis-users or become cyberbullies or experience

harassment themselves. Heavy cellphone users are defined as teens who send more than the

average number of texts in a typical school day (60 or more). Forty-six percent of heavy users

experience cyberbullying on their cell phones, a much higher rate compared to just 23 percent of

teenagers who are within the 'normal usage' bracket.The study found that cyber bullying through

mobile devices or online methods is a serious issue within this age group, and that it can cause

strong emotional impacts. The more you use mobile devices as a means of communication, the

more likely you are to experience harassment across them. The study also reports that teenagers

who experience and participate in cyberbullying are more likely to get into trouble or feel

unhappy than those who do neither. As Naomi Schaefer Riley states A 2011 study in the journal

Children and Society found that frequent Internet users are more likely to perpetrate acts of

cyberbullying.

In 2011 a survey of 500 American teens sponsored by the Telecom firm Openet found

that 42 percent of heavy cellphone users those who send more than 60 texts on a typical school

day have engaged in negative or inappropriate activity on their phones compared to just 18

percent of light users. But heavy cellphone use is not only correlated with bullying. Its

correlated with being bullied. According to the survey 46 percent of heavy users experience

cyberbullying on their cell phones a much higher rate compared to just 23 percent of teenagers
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who are within the normal usage bracket. Cyberbullying can make both girls and boys feel

angry, depressed, and embarrassed. Girls are more likely to react with frustration. While boys

often hold it in and as we all know from recent headlines, in the most extreme cases,

cyberbullying can trigger violence or suicide. Not surprisingly it is most prevalent among middle

schoolers and adolescent girls are more likely to have experienced cyberbullying than boys, 25.8

percent versus 16 percent. Girls are more likely to spread rumors while boys are more likely to

post hurtful pictures or videos. The statistics prove that cellphones in class can cause

cyberbullying in schools. Cyber bullying can be very damaging to teens. It can lead to anxiety,

depression, and even suicide. Also, once things are circulated on the Internet, they may never

disappear, resurfacing at later times to renew the pain of cyber bullying.

Students are more distracted than ever. They tend to check their digital devices

particularly, their smartphones an average of 11.43 times during class for non-classroom

activities. A solid 12 percent do texting, emailing, checking the time or other activities in class

more than 30 times a day. As Linda Machan states her frustration with students and their cell

phones. The texting, tweeting, and Snapchatting during class time are an incredible distraction,

and makes it much more difficult to teach, she said. Its pretty hard to compete with a very

funny YouTube video. Part of the district wide Student Code of Conduct, the policy says

students can't use a cellphone or electronic communication device while in school. Period.

Breaking the rule is considered a minor disciplinary offense that could result in confiscation of

the device for the day, detention, denial of a school privilege or a call home. Students, parents,

teachers and school officials all acknowledge enforcement of the rule is sporadic at best. The

latest study found more students checking their devices with more frequency than in 2013. One-

third of responding students said they used digital devices for non-class purposes at least 10
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times a school day in 2015, compared to 30 percent in 2013. In 2015, the number of students

who never used their devices for non-classroom purposes dropped to 3 percent, compared to 8

percent in 2013. Cell Phones are a distraction in class. There is no disbelief that smartphones

have important qualifications which could promote student learning. But the truth is that kids in

spite of the best efforts of parents and teachers use their phones primarily to access social media.

Forget passing handwritten notes underneath desks or inking your arm with essential math

formulas before a killer test.

If students today want to cheat they have a more corrupt tool such as an cellphone. More

than one third of teens with cell phones admit to having stored information on them to look at

during a test or texting friends about the answers. Approximately 65 percent of all teens surveyed

said they had heard or seen other students using mobile telephones to cheat at school. To

understand this issue we first need to look at statistic 41% of teens say that storing notes on a cell

phone to access during a test is a serious cheating offense while 23% do not think it is cheating at

all. 45% of teens say that texting friends about answers during tests is a serious cheating offense

while 20% say it is not cheating at all. Mobile devices have definitely made life easier in a lot of

ways but now theyre being used to help students cheat a little easier in and out of the classroom.

Even without mobile technology cheating has grown increasingly more common in all levels of

education but particularly at the high school and college levels. The most common type of

cheating by pupils was bringing in unauthorised material mainly phones and other electronic

communication devices they could use to get on the internet, access stored information, or even

try to listen to recordings. Mobile devices and new technology have caused the amount of

cheating in schools to significantly increase in a lot of different ways.

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Any cell phone presents opportunities for cheating. Regular phones have cameras and

text messaging abilities that allow students to contact others. A student with a smartphone has all

the resources of the Internet at their disposal. Some critics may argue that cellphones should be

allowed in school because cell phones have legitimate uses such as safety, scheduling, and

student responsibility. It is easy to think that cell phones should be allowed in schools because

parents want their kids to carry cell phones for safety reasons when walking or riding the bus to

school .But when you look at the evidence cell phones cause distractions ,cyberbullying , and

also cheating .

Some people may believe Cell Phones should be allowed in schools for safety reasons

without a doubt cell phones cause distractions and also cyberbullying in schools. Cell phones are

known for causing distractions, especially now that they can access internet, students can spend

most of their time using social networks like facebook or twitter.

In conclusions from all my research cell phones should not be allowed in schools. Due to

the many distractions that a cell phone can cause in a classroom. Students should only use cell

phones for safety reasons only such as emergency contacts. Cell phones should not be allowed in

the classrooms because of cheating, it is a distraction to others, and it can cause cyberbullying

and bad grades. Cell phones are a big problem in the classrooms because kids pay more attention

to the cell phones in class more than the work. To end my research this is why cell phones should

not be allowed in schools.

http://www.twgplus.com/blog/2012/02/02/53-facts-about-teen-mobile-usage-every-higher-

education-person-should-know/

Works Cited

Airhart, Ellen. "Cell Phones Hinder Struggling Students." University Wire, 19 19 Nov, 2015,
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SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com

Cell Phones in School Timeline SIRS Database. 2016.

Dian Schaffhauser Research: College Students More Distracted Than Ever 01/20/16

LaCasse, Alexander. "Could Smartphone Bans Help Students Achieve More?" Christian

Science Monitor, 18 May, 2015, SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.

Linda Matchan Schools Seek Balance For Cellphones In Class Are They A Teaching Tool Or

Distraction Globe Staff June 16,2015

Nott, Robert. "Monte Del Sol Hopes Cellphone Ban Dials Up Learning." Santa Fe New Mexican,

28. Nov, 2016, pp. n/a, SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.

US Teens Use Smartphones For Cheating :Study

June 19, 2009.