Study about Smartphone use and lower grades

I have a rule in my classes:”I do not want to see or hear your noise making devices unless you can prove they are relevant to the class”. That of course does not stop it completely, there are always those who continue to do so (very rudely I might add); and for the most part I can say, their grades are amongst the lowest because they do not pay attention.

“Frequent Cell Phone Use Linked to Anxiety, Lower Grades and Reduced Happiness in Students, Kent State Research Shows”

“Today, smartphones are central to college students’ lives, keeping them constantly connected with friends, family and the Internet.  Students’ cell phones are rarely out of reach whether the setting is a college classroom, library, recreational center, cafeteria or dorm room. As cell phone use continues to increase, it is worth considering whether use of the device is related to measurable outcomes important for student success, such as academic performance, anxiety and happiness.” 

“Kent State University researchers Andrew Lepp, Ph.D., Jacob Barkley, Ph.D., and Aryn Karpinski, Ph.D., all faculty members in the university’s College of Education, Health and Human Services, surveyed more than 500 university students. Daily cell phone use was recorded along with a clinical measure of anxiety and each student’s level of satisfaction with their own life, or in other words happiness. Finally, all participants allowed the researchers to access their official university records in order to retrieve their actual, cumulative college grade point average (GPA). All students surveyed were undergraduate students and were equally distributed by class (freshman, sophomore, junior and senior).  In addition, 82 different, self-reported majors were represented.”

“Results of the analysis showed that cell phone use was negatively related to GPA and positively related to anxiety. Following this, GPA was positively related to happiness while anxiety was negatively related to happiness. Thus, for the population studied, high frequency cell phone users tended to have lower GPA, higher anxiety, and lower satisfaction with life (happiness) relative to their peers who used the cell phone less often. The statistical model illustrating these relationships was highly significant.”

 

Read the rest here: http://www.kent.edu/news/news-detail.cfm?newsitem=C87DA8EB-0E77-DCF2-AAD1C317FB742933

 

Smartphones are simply tools, and like all tools if they are used incorrectly do not work. Put the phone down students, it will be there when the class ends.

 

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam