Essay Example on Unlimited Possibilities: The Cell Phone Revolution

A cell phone is an electronic device that can be carried by an individual from one point to another. There exist various reasons for using cell phones. The primary use of a cell phone is to send and receive information either from friends, family, or business deals. Cell phones can also be used to access the internet for conducting research, playing music, and games for finding the location. The numerous uses of cell phones have led to significant innovation and growth in the phone manufacturing industries to accommodate all the necessary features for efficient use. The majority of the students have adopted the use of cell phones, and some school's management has accepted it (Walker, 2018). Some teachers are also integrating mobile phones in their teaching strategies, suggesting that they are doing it in moderation. However, cell phones in schools have more disadvantages than advantages. Therefore, in my essay, I will be discussing the demerits of mobile phones on students and why use of mobile phones in schools should be banned. The rule of using cell phones in schools affects students negatively on academics, social life, and psychologically.

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Cell phones should be eliminated in schools as they lead to poor academic performance (Gale Opposing Viewpoints Collection, 2019). However, much the teachers may try to put limitations on the use of phones in schools; the students usually fail to adhere to the measures. Phones serve as sources of distractions during classroom activities progress. The brain of a student is still undergoing development, thus cannot concentrate on two things at the same time. The student may distract the ongoing class when receiving a call or when making movements to get outside and receive it (Kurtus, 2009). Classmates can also be distracted from listening to the teacher when the student who is using a phone draws their full attention. The teacher also wastes a lot of time that could have otherwise been used to explaining a particular concept when trying to scold the student t who is disturbing the class with phone calls. Using the phone while in class also portrays disrespect towards the teacher, and this reduces the morale of the teacher to teach, which reduces academic performance. It is tough to spot students using a Smartphone, maybe browsing the internet or sending and receiving text messages, and this reduces the attention paid to the teacher. Therefore, poor academic performance resulting from the use of mobile phones results from time wastage, lack of concentration, and a decrease in the teacher's teaching morale.

Another supporting reason as to why cell phone use should be banned in schools is because they don't offer better platforms for growth and development of practical interpersonal skills (Gale Opposing Viewpoints Collection, 2019). The majority of the students tend to use their free time on the phone instead of sharing life stories with other students. Everyone is always glued to their phones, either sending information or waiting for a particular response. Cell phones make students anti-social as it reduces face-to-face interactions with each other. Students hardly communicate verbally due to overreliance on text messages; therefore, public speaking skills are not well nurtured. The use of cell phones prohibits effective social interactions. Communicating with others face to face instead of using cell phones is useful as it offers an opportunity to observe each other's facial expressions and understand the information exchanged better. A student communicating with the other verbally can develop empathetic feelings.

Furthermore, students using cell phones in schools can pose significant adverse psychological effects on them (Gale Opposing Viewpoints Collection, 2019). Mental effects may result from excessive use of cell phones without sleeping, which may lead to fatigue. Phones can also lead to anxiety and depression to students who overuse them without taking their time off them. Negative impacts on mental health can result from cyber bullying, which affects the student's psychological function. Inappropriate capturing of other student's images and sharing them on social media platforms without their consent can affect the victims negatively, and this may even lead to suicide cases. The student's inability to detach from their phones reduces the time they could have taken to engage in other activities such as exercising that can otherwise decrease the stress and pressure they might be undergoing.

Besides, excessive use of cell phones in school by the students can nurture bad habits. Phones are widely used by a student to facilitate exam cheating. A student can use a phone to capture the image of the exam paper and send it to the other student through the internet as well as receiving the answers. A cell phone can also research exam questions. It encourages cheating in the exams. To add on, the use of cell phones promotes immorality through the sending of sex-related videos, images, and text messages.

However, the student's use of mobile phones does not necessarily lead to negative impacts. Thus, there are challenging points on the issue of banning phones in schools. Students can use phones for research purposes, and this leads to innovation and improvement in academic skills (Gale Opposing Viewpoints Collection, 2019). Also, students can use phones in school to communicate with either their parents or to other students who are not close to their vicinity (Walker, 2018). Thus, cell phones in school improve the social skills of the students.

Conclusion

In conclusion, cell phones are portable devices used for communication, research, and playing games. Most schools have implemented the rule of students using mobile phones. However, the school should ban students from using cell phones. They lead to poor academic performance, limit the growth of social and interpersonal skills, and affect the students mentally. Besides, using cell phones develops terrible vices such as cheating and immorality. However, an individual can challenge the argument of banning cell phones in school as they enable the students to conduct research and communicate with those who are far away from them. In the future, there should be a platform for creating strategies to make sure that students only use mobile phones for the required purpose.

References

Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. (2019). Cell Phones in Schools. Gale, a Cengage Company.

Kurtus, R. (2009). Improving School Performance by Eliminating Texting and Cell Phones. Gale, a Cengage Company.

Walker, T. (2018). Allowing Cell Phones in Schools Impacts the Learning Experience. Gale, a Cengage Company.