Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Your children’s smartphones aren’t making them smarter
17 years have passed since the emergence of smartphones. Today’s teenagers
and younger children have grown up with the handheld, ubiquitous device, rather
than a TV set or PC. According to a media study, the average American teens get
237 phone notifications per day on their smartphones, nearly 15 messages per
awake hour. Also, they use their phones for over 40 minutes during school time.
So what are middle and high school students doing in school these days? Since students
aren’t supposed to use phones during class in most schools, they are looking at
and scrolling the smartphone displays between classes, during lunch break, and
before and after school. These times could be spent socializing or playing with
friends when they learn social dynamics and build skills to manage different
activities and challenges. Also, students seem to believe they can learn OK
while going back and forth between their studies and smartphones. However,
studies suggest the human brain can do only one thing well at a time. In fact, American
College Testing (ACT) scores dropped to the lowest level last year in 30 years.
All in all, smartphones don’t seem to make kids any smarter. Are dumbphones any
better?
Read the article and learn about how American students have been
affected by smartphones.
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