Ayuli 1  

Alex Ayuli

Professor Dakota Lenz

ENGWR 300 College Composition

October 10, 2019

Problem / Solution Essay – Cellphones Off at School

Kids today are going through an existential crisis. We’re losing them…

to smartphones.

Many teachers, psychologists, and adolescent behavioral experts agree that

cellphone use amongst teens

is a growing problem. On

school campuses the problem

is amplified.

Recent studies

indicate there’s a lack of

curriculum engagement,

increased opportunities for

cyber bullying, (RF EMF) radiation induced memory deficits, sleep deprivation, stress,

even nomophobia, which is the fear of being without a mobile device; essentially, an

addiction to cellphones. (Image:Twenge, iGen article, theatlantic.com/magazine/archive)

All of this dramatically impacts their academic learning abilities – in this regard

the data is unequivocal.

In carefully controlled experimental studies subsequently published in the paper,

The Relationship Between Cell Phone Use and Academic Performance, researchers at
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ayuli 2  

Kent State University, found cellphone use to be a “significant and negative predictor of

college student’s academic performance.” (Lepp et al).

One can surmise that if there is this kind of effect on college age students, then

it’s probably more pronounced in the

younger aged students in high schools

and elementary schools. (Image, Lepp,

article, www.journals.sagepub.com)

The problem isn’t just isolated to

here in the US. There have been studies

with similar conclusions in Malaysia,

South Korea, Nigeria, and the UK.

Milena Foerster, a Swiss epidemiologist, in a test using 700 Swiss teens, found a

negative correlation between cell phone radiation exposure, and figural memory loss.

That’s the memory used for words and numbers. In her research document, A Prospective

Cohort Study of Adolescents’ Memory Performance and Individual Brain Dose of

Microwave Radiation from Wireless Communication, she noted that there were, “changes

in figural memory scores associated with a higher cumulative RF-EMF brain dose in

adolescents.” (Foerster et al). If you’re a high school teacher, wondering why kids today

don’t seem to have any short-term

memory or attention span, perhaps

this is one of the reasons.

Another group of researchers

at the College of Human Science and

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ayuli 3  

Services found that mobile phone use was negatively impacting the amount of sleep

adolescents were getting every night. (Image: Adams, research paper,

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4089837/). In their article commentary:

Adolescent Sleep and Cellular Phone Use: Recent Trends and Implications for Research,

researcher Sue K. Adams reported that kids were sending on average about 100 texts a

day. Many of them were using their phones within an hour of going to bed, which

interfered with their ability to fall asleep and stay asleep. (Sue K. Adams, et al). So they

get to class and fall asleep there in instead. Sound familiar? More importantly, according

to AlDabal, L. and BaHammam, S., sleep deprivation in adolescents can lead to

“disrupted circadian rhythms resulting in dysregulated sleep patterns, as well as

dysregulated metabolic, endocrine, and immune responses. Examples include weight

gain, insulin resistance, increased cortisol levels, systemic inflammation, hypertension,

and decreased immune

response.”

Jean Twenge, author

and professor of psychology at

San Diego State, writes in her

new book, iGen: Why Today’s

Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy—

and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood—and What That Means for the Rest of Us,

that teen depression and suicides have escalated since 2011 fuelled by smartphones tied

to social media. (Image: https://archive.longislandpress.com/2012/08/16/li-schools-

struggle-with-rise-in-teen-suicides/)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ayuli 4  

On a more positive note, Ill Communication: Technology, Distraction & Student

Performance, a 2015 study by Professors Louis-Philippe Beland and Richard Murphy,

commissioned by the Center for

Economic Performance at the

London School of Economics,

found that students in schools that

had implemented mobile phone

bans, had significantly increased

test scores in high stakes exams.

What was interesting was that the high scores were most notable amongst the lowest

achieving students. (Image: High School Graduation, www.teenslovetoknow.com/

High_School_Graduation).

The facts speak for themselves and reveal the problem very clearly. Before

moving onto possible solutions, this might be a good place to hear some of the concerns

and viewpoints of both students and parents.

In interviews conducted around campus, most adults with children expressed their

fears about not being able to communicate with their kids during an emergency. They

were also concerned about not being able to reach their children if there was a change in

plans for picking them up from school or other situations.

Most students said they used their phones for doing homework, reading up on

class subjects and researching information for their various assignments. The data

however tells a different story. According to a PewInternert.org survey, 89% of kids view
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ayuli 5  

their phones as primarily leisure devices. Of the 95% of teens that have access to

smartphones, 45% say they are online constantly. Teachers can also attest to these facts.

Fortunately solutions can be just as clear-cut if given the support required from all

stakeholders. Rather than physically taking away their phones, technological solutions

have been proposed, specifically: Mobile device blocking software, coupled with in class

text messaging displays, which only accept family member’s numbers for emergencies or

‘change in plan’ messages.

Addressing student concerns, there could also be specially configured Internet

kiosks, tablets and laptops, which would allow only teacher directed Internet access.

In conclusion, it’s clear and

understandable that parents are giving

their children access to smartphones

because they have concerns, in this day

and age, about school safety. But if we

really want to give our kids the best

opportunities to advance, it’s crucial

that they get a good education, develop important social skills, and stay healthy;

physically, emotionally, and psychologically. (Image: www.dreamstime.com/stock-

photo-teacher-children-working-computer-kids-computing-class). ‘Cellphones Off in

School’ is the right solution to the growing problem of the distraction and disruptions of

mobile device use on school campuses.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ayuli 6  

Works Cited

Adams,  Sue  K.,  et  al.  “Article  Commentary:  Adolescent  Sleep  and  Cellular  Phone  Use:    

Recent  Trends  and  Implications  for  Research.”  Health Services Insights vol. 6

99-103. 2013, doi:10.4137/HSI.S11083

Aldabal, Laila & Ahmed S Bahammam. “Metabolic, Endocrine, and Immune

Consequences of Sleep Deprivation.” The Open Respiratory Medicine Journal

vol. 5, pp 31-43. 2011, doi:10.2174/1874306401105010031

Anderson, Monica & Jiang, Jinjin. Teens, Social Media and Technology. 2018 Pew

Institute, www.pewinternet.org/2018/05/31/teens-social-media-technology-2018/

Beland, Louis-Philippe & Murphy, Richard. “Ill Communication: Technology,

Distraction & Student Performance.” Labour Economics, vol. 41, 2016, pp 61-76

Foerster, Milena, et al. “A Prospective Cohort Study of Adolescents’ Memory

Performance and Individual Brain Dose of Microwave Radiation from Wireless

Communication” Environmental Health Perspectives, vol.126, 2018,

doi:10.1289/ehp2427

Lepp,  Andrew,  et  al.  “The Relationship Between Cell Phone Use and Academic

Performance.” Kent State University Research Article, vol. 5,  2015,  

doi.org/10.1177/2158244015573169  

Twenge, Jean. iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less

Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy—and Completely Unprepared for

Adulthood—and What That Means for the Rest of Us. Simon and Schuster, 2017