Why Mobile Phones Should Be Prohibited in School - Essay Sample

Introduction

The use of mobile phones in American university and high school classrooms has increased significantly over the last two decades (Liu et al., 2016). The emergence of mobile technologies, such as electronic book readers, iPads, and smartphones, are some of the factors that have contributed to a sharp rise in mobile phone usage in learning institutions. Today, 9 out of 10 students in United States schools have smartphones, an aspect that has increased cell phone usage in classroom settings (Liu et al., 2016). Liu et al. (2016) described the current generation of students as "digital natives that cannot live without mobile technologies" (p.14). With this phenomenon, digital natives are likely to use their smartphones in restricted areas. Although cell phones help students access electronic learning materials, they compromise school life's essential facets. According to Frimpong et al. (2016), instructors compete for students' attention in modern classrooms because mobile phones create various stimuli that distract learners. These devices also aid in cheating in tests and exams. Due to the adverse effects of smartphone use in educational settings, about 62% of high schools have banned students from using mobile phones in class (Liu et al., 2016). Mobile phones should be prohibited in learning institutions because they promote cheating and distract students, which, in turn, causes poor academic performance.

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Disruption in Class and Lower Academic Performance

Smartphones should be banned in school settings because they distract students from concentrating on important learning activities. Learners often tend to use these digital devices for non-academic purposes, a phenomenon that adversely impacts learning. Of great note, ringing mobile phones are too disruptive to classroom activities. They also divide students' attention at a time when learners should be concentrating on the lessons at hand. A recent survey reported that 92% of students who used their cell phones in school were fond of sending messages during learning (Liu et al., 2016). Besides, there is evidence that approximately 66% of learners who carry their smartphones to school visit social networking sites during in-class activities (Liu et al., 2016). This phenomenon implies that school boards should ban the use of mobile phones in educational settings to enable students to concentrate on core academic activities.

Mobile technologies provide students with a mechanism to cheat on tests and examinations. Teaching professionals have argued that cell phones promote cheating as learners can use them to find answers to tests and examination questions (Maphalala & Nzamama, 2014). In this case, widespread technology-supported cheating can lower the quality of education. A survey of college students showed that 10% of them acknowledged having ever texted during exams and used their cell phones to cheat (Liu et al., 2016).

In another survey, 33% of high school students admitted to having used their smartphones to cheat in exams (Thomas et al., 2013). Approximately 26% of these learners used their phones to store and retrieve essential information during tests Thomas et al., 2013). Besides, many students are fond of taking pictures of examination papers to aid in cheating (Thomas et al., 2013). This aspect suggests that it is necessary to ban smartphone use in learning environments to safeguard the integrity of examinations in the education system.

The US should forbid mobile phone use in school to help learners explore their full academic potential. Here, there is evidence showing a negative relationship between academic performance and the use of mobile phones in school (Jacobsen & Forste, 2011). According to Jacobsen and Forste (2011), texting and calling among university students has been associated with a lower grade point average (GPA). The rationale is based on two explanations. First, students tend to substitute in-class academic tasks with popular smartphone activities like surfing the internet, playing games, and monitoring social networking sites. Heavy video gaming, in particular, directly correlates with lower academic performance (Jacobsen & Forste, 2011). Secondly, the ringing of mobile phones is too disruptive for both students and instructors. Multitasking also hinders classroom learning capability among students.

However, college students using the internet to access online learning materials are likely to record higher academic performance than their counterparts using the internet for non-academic purposes (Hossai, 2019). Facebook use in school, in particular, has been associated with lower academic performance. According to Hossai (2019), strong negative relationships between mobile phone usage and lower cumulative GPA have been reported in student populations across North America, Asia, and Europe. Together, these pieces of evidence support an argument that students should not use mobile phones in educational environments.

Heavy use of mobile phones in class settings adversely impacts student's learning ability. An experiment investigating whether calling and texting among students affects academic performance showed small but consistent negative impacts on self-reported GPA (Frimpong et al., 2016). In this study, researchers investigated students who engaged in simulated Facebook posting, texting, and emailing. The researchers observed that students' ability to learn information declined with multiple simulation tasks (Frimpong et al., 2016). Besides, there is also evidence that higher rates of texting behavior in school lower students' ability to self-regulate in a manner that enhances their academic performance (Frimpong et al., 2016).

Amez and Baert (2020) argued that having mobile phones in learning environments contributes to task-switching and multitasking in class. The proximity of these electronic devices tempts students to engage in cell phone activities at the expense of study-related tasks. The authors discussed four reasons why many students have task-switching behavior and may not use their smartphones for educational purposes. First, auditory and visual notifications draw learners' attention during important in-class activities (Amez & Baert, 2020). Secondly, students with cell phones desire to interact in the virtual world continuously, as they do not want to miss whatever is happening online. Thirdly, having smartphones contributes to cyberslacking, which refers to interference from concentrating on study activities. Finally, mobile phones encourage feelings of boredom in class as an excuse to minimize or avoid participation in academic activities.

Social Skills and Behavioral Problems

School boards and other policymakers should forbid cell phones in school to enhance the development of social skills in students. Frimpong et al. (2016) found that these electronic devices diminish effective listening skills and other social skills that every learner should develop while in school. Texting and calling, in particular, divide students' attention in class, a situation that lowers their ability to exercise note-taking and lecture-listening skills.

Notably, learners using mobile phones are also likely to download podcasts instead of taking notes from their instructors. This phenomenon diminishes the social skills that learners develop by simultaneously listening, interpreting information, and manipulating lecture ideas. According to Frimpong et al. (2016), students who do not exercise these elements are likely to become poor note-takers, recording less than 40% of lecture details. Precisely, smartphones distract students, thus rendering them unable to take complete notes during lecture learning.

Additionally, Kuznekoff and Titsworth (2013) presented detailed evidence supporting a claim that mobile phones harm students' social skills development. In this study, the authors noted that learners who were not using cell phones in school could recall more information (Kuznekoff & Titsworth, 2013). They also had effective listening and note-taking skills as they could write 62% more information during lectures than their classmates with smartphones (Kuznekoff & Titsworth, 2013). In this regard, the primary concern is that students with cell phones are fond of playing games, sending texts, and checking social networking platforms instead of giving sustained attention to in-class activities (Kuznekoff & Titsworth, 2013).

Mobile phone activities such as texting and internet surfing in school adversely impact students' writing and speaking skills development. According to Thomas et al. (2013), teachers have raised concerns that heavy texting harms learners' ability to write and speak proper English. However, the regulated use of smartphones is beneficial to students. In this case, there is evidence that learners using their smartphones to produce podcasts tend to develop better listening and writing skills than their counterparts who do not use electronic devices (Thomas et al., 2013). However, an argument for banning smartphone use carries more weight in that a considerable proportion of students lack cell phone etiquette.

Heavy mobile phone use in school disconnects students and pupils from concentrating on activities designed to enhance specific skills development. These electronic devices minimize social interaction, which plays a critical role in a student's social skills development (Thomas et al., 2013). This situation exists because mobile phones reduce learner's level of engagement outside the classroom. Here, smartphones offer students opportunities to engage in different digital terrain activities, which reduces interpersonal interaction.

Social interaction is essential to students because it allows learners to build bonds and organize their thoughts. Kuznekoff and Titsworth (2013) acknowledged that smartphones help students stay in contact with others. However, this claim does not consider that connection to the social world splits young people's attention to the extent that they miss important activities that contribute to social skills development. This aspect shows that it is necessary to ban the use of electronic communication devices in school.

Information processing theory explains how mobile phone use in school hampers learning and social skill development. According to this theory, metacognition, long-term memory, working memory, attention, and short-term memory are primary resources students use to acquire new information (Kuznekoff & Titsworth, 2013). Smartphone activities like posting, internet surfing, and texting divide students' attention, an aspect that distracts them from participating in on-task activities. This situation, in turn, limits information processing in short-term memory and working memory during learning. Information processing may also be inaccurate when learners are multitasking during lectures. This aspect could contribute to insufficient or erroneous storage of information in long-term memory. Accordingly, students ought to be barred from using mobile phones in school as it impedes information processing.

In addition to diminishing social skills, mobile phones cause behavioral problems in students. A recent survey indicated that 4% of adolescents carrying mobile phones to school have ever sent pictures of a sexual nature (Thomas et al., 2013). Precisely, they reported having sent sexual images of themselves during their free time in school. The survey further showed that 15% of high school students who participated in the survey had ever received sexual images on their phones while in school (Thomas et al., 2013).