Professors prepare for another year of battling cell phones
Excitement, frustration, nervousness, anxiousness and relief are just a few of the emotions many students may be feeling as they head back to campus for their first few weeks of classes.
Whether those feelings come from a sense of the unknown or from early cases of senioritis, there is one thing everyone can always seem to count on to get them through — their cell phone.
According to a 2021 Pew Research Center study, 97% of Americans own a cell phone and 85% own a smartphone.
A digital device has become a near necessity in daily life. From online shopping, lightning-speed text messages and bank account transfers to social media threads, sports highlights and answers only a Google search away, there are countless ways cell phones shape the modern experience.
But in a classroom setting, cell phones can mean two things: 1) the most flexible and convenient educational experience yet through virtual classes, real-time learning and instantaneous polls, or 2) a huge distraction that decreases attention spans, motivation and student well-being.
Some people, like Clair Canfield, a Utah State University communications professor, say cell phones have done both.
“In many of my classes, the learning isn’t just something that is rhetorical or cognitive, but it’s also experiential or emotional, and so sometimes, when things get a little uncomfortable — because we often have to be uncomfortable to grow or learn — then a cell phone has the potential to allow us an escape away from the discomfort,” Canfield said. “A cell phone can pull you away from your capacity to focus in that way.”
Still, Canfield said he’s allowed cell phones in the classroom before to help student engagement through online activities like interactive polls.
But while professors can admit to both the positive and negative effects of students’ easy access to digital devices, the statistics show more harm is being done than good.
According to a 2015 study from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, undergraduates reported pulling out their phone in class an average of 11.7 times per day for something non-related to school or the class.
A study by the University of California Irvine reported after a distraction like checking an alert on your mobile device, it can take an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to start focusing again.
Pulling out a cell phone doesn’t distract just the user, either.
“It’s not only distracting having a cell phone there that could potentially take their attention away, but even more than that, if someone three rows up is on a laptop, it’s really hard not to be distracted to look at what they’re doing,” Canfield said.
Because the majority of students at Utah State University are Generation Z, most may not know of a school experience any different.
USU sophomore Hayley Poll said though she has learned to turn off phone notifications to prevent distractions during class, she typically checks her phone an average of three times per class.
“I don’t think it’s a problem because it is (a students’) own choice to be attentive in class,” Poll said. “It only affects them and the outcome of their grade.”
Universities aren’t the only ones fighting the battle against cell phones. The problem may be starting with bad habits in earlier education.
Davis County high school teacher Jamie Tanner said no matter what she does, students disregard traditional methods of learning to prioritize social media as their source for new knowledge, absorbing what they think is important.
“It truly is an obsession. To get students to stay focused in the classroom gets harder and harder every year,” Tanner said. “It’s a major disservice to themselves to prepare for college.”
But teachers and professors aren’t willing to concede to this learning barrier just yet.
Canfield said the usage of cell phones has increased throughout his 21 years of teaching, but despite the problematic potential, it isn’t inherently a problem.
Ultimately, he believes opening up a conversation about it can go a long way.
“I think addressing what those (problems) potentially are and potential barriers that phone usage can have in a classroom is a discussion worth having because they aren’t going away,” Canfield said.
Tanner, on the other hand, said the only successful method she’s seen is through earning respect.
“If I go out of my way to create a good relationship with my students, they are much more willing to follow my rules,” she said.
Since each professor has their different methods of attempting to solve the problem, cell phone policies vary from one professor to the next.
“Most of the professors I’ve had didn’t really mind if you went on your phone or not,” Poll said.
Others, however, set early expectations. USU English professor Jeremy Ricketts made a point to put his cell phone policy in his English 3030 syllabus before class even started.
“Above all, be courteous to your fellow classmates. Part of this is controlling one’s cell phone—when in class,” the syllabus reads. “You are not available to answer calls or to send and receive texts—best to just turn it off to avoid temptation.”
Regardless of what policy is set as the class expectation, most teachers and professors actively promote full engagement in class so students can get the most out of what they’re learning — after that, it’s up to the student to make their own choice.
“It’s not necessarily the existence of cell phones that’s inherently good or bad,” Canfield said, “but perhaps how we are using them or not using them.”
-Jacee.Caldwell@usu.edu
Featured photo illustration by Bailey Rigby