For years at schools, students were never allowed to use their phones simply because it was always assumed that they were cheating. But in today’s society, phones and the use of the internet are a huge part of our lives and we can use that to our advantage. Why is it that we use computers for research projects and to look things up, but it’s almost forbidden to use our phones? Teachers should teach students how to use their devices as resources because let’s be real, when we get jobs, we will definitely be using google from time to time. Although the internet helps us in many ways, I do still think it’s important to learn the basics of any unit, but when it comes to big projects and papers, and even study guides for tests, why is it so wrong to use our phone and devices for assistance? As well as helping with academic work, students should be able to use their phones to take notes if they are slower at it by taking pictures, recording, ect.

Not only do our phones help us with academic research, they are used for communication and emergencies. In any dangerous situation, your phone can be of great use by calling 911, parents/guardians, or the ambulance. If there is a schedule change at school or at home that affects your school day, it’s important to be able to communicate. If the school closes down, we should be able to check our phones to confirm. Also, what if we forget something super important? Like maybe our computer, our lunch, our sports uniform. Another factor to remember is our guardians like to have peace of mind, and if their kid isn’t allowed to have any form of communication, it can stress them out.

Although many would say that phones do anything but help us socially, they are wrong. For many people, friends are made through their phones. Whenever you meet someone at school, you usually ask for their number or snapchat or other social media so you can keep up with them. It gives students a chance to talk with their friends outside of school, and even ask for help with homework, or work on upcoming projects together.

Our small devices hold a lot of use. I believe that they can be distracting sometimes and some kids are on them more than others. For those students that spend more time on them, I don’t think taking them away is beneficial. If anything they are going to cause more trouble. What many people don’t understand is that if a student, in high school especially, is not paying attention in class, there is already a built in punishment for them, and that is their own future being affected.

In brief, our devices are powerful and can be used for good. We should use them to our advantage in school for academics, communication, friendships, and so much more, and we should stop taking them away from students as they are just hurting themselves by spending too much time on them.