New research has found that students waste about
one-fifth of their class time on their digital devices. The average student
uses a device for nonclass purposes 11.43 times each class, up from 10.93 times
in 2013, despite the fact they understand such behavior could harm their
grades.
The report Digital Distractions in the Classroom PhaseII: Student Classroom Use of Digital Devices for Non-Class Related Purposes also asked students why they look at their devices during class. Nearly 63%
said they were doing it to stay connected, but about the same amount said they
were checking their phones because they were bored, according to a report from Inside Higher Education.
Students overwhelmingly said they didn’t want their
devices banned because they didn’t believe the gadgets were a significant
distraction. They also said they should be able to use their gadgets whenever
they want. Fewer than 12% admitted that they just couldn’t stop themselves.
“This speaks qualitatively to their feeling that they
should be the ones to decide when and how to use their digital devices,” said
Bernard R. McCoy, associate professor of journalism at the University of
Nebraska, Lincoln, and author of the report. “It’s a part of what’s now factored
into the classroom, and it’s a reality we all have to think about.”
McCoy surveyed 675 students at four-year institutions
in 26 states. Nearly 90% of them said they understood that not paying attention
was a disadvantage of using digital devices in the classroom, while 80% knew
that the distraction could lead them to miss an instruction.
However, the students also assumed also they could handle
their devices, with 58% saying it was just a “little” distraction. Only 39% admitted
checking their device distracted others and 42% added that it was only a
“little distraction” if it did bother other students.
“To
me it’s fascinating, interesting, and a little scary all at once,” McCoy said.
“If you take a look at the habits of society in general, technology is more
available to us than ever before. Then you think about millennials. They are
true digital natives. They’ve only known the Internet and the technologies
associated with it.”
