By Elle Carlos | Staff Writer |
College students spend one-fifth of their time in the classroom on their cellphone or other electronic devices, according to a study conducted at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
According to CBS, nine out of 10 students reported texting to be their main distraction during class.
Frequently, professors argue that electronic devices serve as a distraction to yourself and those around you.
Some professors on campus have implemented consequences for cellphone use in class.
Dr. Joan Fryxell implemented the “cellphone prison.”
“If I see it, if I hear it, it goes in the box (the cellphone prison) which sits up on the podium every day as a visual reminder. It (cellphone) goes in there and it stays there until the end of class. At the end of class they can come pick it up,” said Fryxell.“I warn people that if it goes off while it’s in there, I can answer it if I want to. And that I can say whatever occurs to me is the appropriate thing to say.”
The Atlantic reports that they [cellphones] are taking a toll on students’ cognitive thinking abilities.
“Smartphones provide unlimited access to calculators, spellcheckers and a variety of other apps, which caused students to develop shorter attention spans,” according to The Atlantic.
“There are moments when I do miss things, because my attention is focused somewhere else,” said student Louis Sibille.
Attention spans have shortened so dramatically that many college students struggle to read anything longer than a social network posting.
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