Technology is a Useful Servant

“Technology is a useful servant, but a dangerous master (“The Nobel Peace 29). This is a true statement because technology can be used to do work, just like a slave. In schools though, cell phones can be a dangerous tool to students when it starts to control them, like a master does. Cell phones and schools just don’t mix, which is why they shouldn’t be used there. Despite the reasons for using cell phones in school, cell phones should not be used in schools because they are a distraction to students, they can be used for cheating, and they can lead to cyberbullying.

To start off, the first big reason is that cell phones are a big distraction to students. “‘Students persistently use them for a great deal for personal interactions via social media when they should be paying attention to what is going on in class,’ according to Connie Fawcett, a high school teacher in Oklahoma (Keima 9). A high school teacher has first hand experience on exactly what goes on with her students and can see how much they use their phone and get distracted. Social media on cell phones is one of the biggest distractions for students that teachers have caught on to because of the sheer number of times students use them. When students don’t learn things they need in class because they were distracted by their phone, students will fail in life. In the same way cell phones lead to distractions in students, they likewise lead to cheating.

Next, students can use their phones to cheat on schoolwork. “One issue is that camera phones can be used to take photographs of quizzes or exams and transmit them to classmates (Obringer and Coffey 1). If students are using their phones to cheat, it is not fair to the students that worked hard studying. It will also make bad habits for their jobs or college, where cheating is not acceptable. Cell phones can easily take pictures and send them in less than a minute, which is why students sometimes don’t get caught and this is also why cell phones are becoming more of a cheating tool. In like manner that cell phones are used for cheating, they can also be used to cyberbully.

Finally, cell phones are often used to cyberbully other peers. “According to the survey, “46 percent of heavy users experience cyberbullying on their cell phones, a much higher rate compared to just 23 percent of teenagers who are within the ‘normal usage’ bracket (Riley 8). Almost half of students that use phones excessively get cyberbullied which is a tremendous amount of people. Even normal phone time results in a lot of cyberbullying, which can lead many students to destructive decisions. It is likely that more students will continue to use their phones if they don’t get banned, which will lead to more cyberbullying. Although cell phones can lead to cyberbullying, some might say that, nevertheless, it can also help students concentrate.

Some people might say that cell phones can help students concentrate, with the use of music. This is begging the question fallacy because students fall victim of the placebo effect, because they assume the cell phone music is helping them concentrate when, in reality, is not true. “Two years ago, for example, Peter Bregman wrote in the Harvard Business Review Blog Network that multitasking can reduce productivity by as much as 40%, increase stress and cause a 10-point fall in IQ (Earl 5). If students productivity is lowered by multitasking, then listening to cell phone music is not a good thing after all. Whoever thinks it does help them concentrate, is flawed in their logic.

There are many reasons why cell phones should not be used in schools but the main ones are that they are a distraction to students, they can be used for cheating, and they can lead to cyberbullying. Do not use cell phones at school students, as it will lead to bad consequences. While cell phones are useful in many ways, they should not be allowed in the educational environment to help students succeed in life.

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