Nex ganesan
The increased use of technology in schools has become a controversial topic among teachers and parents. While some argue that phones can enhance the learning process by providing students with instant access to information and educational apps, others believe that they are a major distraction and potentially harmful to student well-being.
The same issue has been seen at MC, where more teachers are incorporating technology into their classrooms with tools such as Kahoot and Blooket, resulting in a larger need for phones in school. This has caused a complete transition from older methods in schools from paper towards Chromebooks and phones.
Technology has had its benefits such as convenience and quicker communication, helping with quicker access to resources for educational support such as Khan Academy.
However, excessive use of cell phones raises concerns about both mental and physical health among teenagers.
Digitalresponsibility.org states that increased phone usage can cause psychological issues such as distraction, narcissism, and symptoms of depression. Use of technology can also have negative repercussions on physical health such as vision problems, hearing loss, and neck strain.
Additionally, the growing presence of social media on these devices can contribute to cyberbullying and other negative effects, leading many schools to implement strict phone policies or even bans. As technology continues to play a larger role in education, it is important for schools to be able to balance the benefits and negatives of phones and technology in order to provide a safe and productive environment for students.
Many argue that this is a result of increased dependence on phones by both parents and staff for children’s safety. This increases the use of technology among children making it more popular to use technology to improve education.
Many students at MC like Liza Kasishov (10) have shared their opinions on the increased use of phones and Chromebooks.
“I have met a lot of great people on the internet; some of my closest friends are people over the internet [but then] internet safety is a big concern,” Kasishov said.
Many elementary teachers in our district have seen this and have their own thoughts on its effects on young kids , including Frank Cvar, a third-grade teacher at Morning Creek Elementary.
Cvar believes that technology has a great impact on his class by providing students with creative output, helping them develop spelling, and providing them with better access to information. Yet technological advances reveal many drawbacks.
“It helps us present and gives the kids a creative outlet, but it also has a negative side effect; we are seeing a lot of behavior issues with kids having access to things [on the internet]; these kids see these TikTok and Youtube videos where a lot of older guys in their twenties, even older than that, pull pranks and roasting each other, and they come here and think that’s how adults behave and think it’s ok,” Chav explained.
Many young children are spending more time on the internet to occupy their minds due to the system of online school during quarantine where parents do not have enough time to check or limit everything their children can view on the internet.
This has affected most Americans, especially younger children; according to EducationWeek.com many people on the internet behave differently and almost put on a facade which has and continues to lead to cyberbullying and carries over to in-person conversations.
Especially over these past few years, technology has been a savior in keeping in contact with family, friends, teachers and even employers. This means that a lot of people have made schedules that depend heavily on technology which will make the idea go into younger generations. The only way to keep children from becoming overly reliant on technology is for schools to find a healthier balance to ensure that both the drawbacks and benefits both weigh equal to each other out to make kids more productive and healthier.
