Impacts of technology and mobile phones
The modern society has been plagued with the impacts of technology and mobile phones. In different cities across the globe, people rarely look up or engage in good conversations in the streets as they are constantly glued on mobile phones. Mobile phones have become a central place for apps that touch on every aspect of living. Therefore, mobile phones can be used to communicate, review daily news, order for food, get directions, and have entertainment, to mention but a few. The vast uses of a mobile phone thus have created an era in which people are constantly staring at the streets. The impacts of mobile phones have become even more detrimental to students. As young people, students in different levels of education and especially colleges, have become overly reliant on phones for daily uses. Apart from the normal usage of the general population, students use mobile phones for advanced aspects such as reading and interacting with others on different platforms. However, mobile phones have caused both positive and negative impacts on the lives of students. The use of mobile phones and the internet have allowed increased access to academic resources and the sharing of academic information among students; however, it has also caused a lack of integrity academics, lowered cognitive advancement and distracts students.
The use and accessibility of mobile phones have increased the accessibility of academic resources. The internet has become a hub for research and studies on different subjects and disciplines which are accessible through mobile devices. For instance, various colleges across America have created online libraries that can be accessed by students through their mobile devices. Similarly, different journals have accounts online through which students can access information on many disciplines. As Twum explains, “smartphones play a very important role in education, in that it offered a major chance in enhancing access to learning resources. This enables many institutions, especially in higher education, to develop learner support as well as learning opportunities in ways which would build on current methods” (216). Access to academic resources has been increased rapidly based on the use of mobile phones for students at all times. Modern researchers have advanced the accessibility to their studies through different online platforms such as ProQuest, Jstor, Google Scholar, and Springer, to mention but a few. The accessibility of research not only benefits the research by receiving monetary value for their work but also by having more students learn of the advancement in different disciplines. In different parts of the world, a student can be able to see new research and view different developments in a discipline in which they are interested. Access to mobile phones has allowed students to have access to a vast array of information, thus making the process of learning more efficient. Moreover, mobile phones are effective as they allow students to interact in real-time about different topics and studies.
The advancement of better features and internet speeds for mobile phones has allowed students to interact more and share knowledge. The advancement of better communication platforms on the internet allows for tribes to be developed based on common interest among the users. As a result, students have been able to interact and share different ideas. The aspect of being drawn together by the same interests thus allows students in similar disciplines to interact, discuss, and offer suggestions on new researches from different parts of the world. According to a research conducted in the European University of Lefke, “the internet and its usage in higher education have improved educational development and research and has encouraged virtual interactions for sharing research findings” (Apuke and Iyendo 02). The interaction between students and the sharing of knowledge has been emphasized in the modern era. Students have better platforms such as Quora to discuss and learn different elements of certain studies and the results provided. Similarly, the use of the internet in school canvases and blackboard platforms has increased interactions with teachers and other students. For instance, in the class forums, students can interact with other students, share ideas on research, correct others, and provide researched information. In schools across the globe, students have been able to actively share data on different researches that have allowed students to learn more. The advancement of better online communication will ensure students have access to more information and platforms to share. When used correctly in the learning environment, students are able to access the various information and share with like-minded students, thus learning more on various aspects of the discipline. Unfortunately, students can also be impacted negatively through the use of mobile phones and technology.
The increased use of mobile phones and internet use has led to increased cheating in academics. Dozens of platforms on the internet currently allow students to have assistance in writing essays. The platforms which advertise and tutoring platforms have become avenues for students buying essays and assignments. Apart from essays, students can have direct assistance in exam rooms by taking pictures of different questions and getting the answers directly to mobile phones. The business of selling and purchase of academic papers has reached an alarming rate in different parts of the world, which is enabled by the use of mobile phones and internet connectivity. As the authors explain, “Despite the fact that repercussions for cheating are severe, involving possible suspension or expulsion, 62% of U.S. students have reported seeing or hearing of another student using a connected device to cheat on an exam, quiz or project” (NYU dispatch). The increase in mobile technology has also allowed students to get aid directly and cheat in different exams. The internet offers a variety of places where students can access information and help at different costs. As a result, the increase in speeds and technology of cellphones allows cheating to be rampant in tertiary education systems. Students constantly have access to help and are tempted to use them, thus lowering their ability to learn from the school experience. Hence, access to the internet and better mobile phone technology is leading to an increase in professionals with little knowledge of their disciplines, which can be fatal in the working areas. Similarly, the use of the internet and mobile phones have adverse impacts on concentration.
The use of social media and cellphones has distraction effects on students, especially in college. The use of cellphones has increased drastically among the school-going age. All students in college have different types of phones with network connectivity. The increased accessibility of cellphones has also created the increased accessibility of distractions such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, WeChat, and many more. Unfortunately, the unlimited use of the devices, especially in class, negatively impacts on the students. In college, more so, the students are at risk of being distracted since the use of mobile phones in the schools is not restricted in any way. According to a report by CNBC, “students in schools with phone bans earned higher test scores, and that low-performing student benefited the most” (Hess). The study found that schools where the use of mobile phones is restricted performed better in their studies as compared to a school with the freedom to use phones. The current mobile phones have higher speeds and internet connectivity, thus increasing communication rapidly. Despite phones offering access to academic resources, they also offer access to multiple social media platforms. As a result, students can spend hours looking at the pictures and stories posted on different platforms, thus losing on the main lessons taught in class. Different social media platforms such as Instagram have developed resources for the enormous transformation of the applications, thus adding on more social functionality. Different challenges on social platforms have also been on the rise, thus offering internet users with unlimited access to entertainment and intriguing content on celebrities and social functions. The modern access to mobile phones and the internet causes enormous challenges to the students by constantly distracting them from class work and completion of assignments on time. Moreover, the use of phones is impacting the development of students.
The increase in the use of mobile phones in the learning environment has lowered the cognitive development of school children. The use of mobile phones has caused students to have constant access to information at all times. As a result, they have lowered the need to use working and short-term memories. Moreover, the use of phones has immense exposure to electromagnetic waves that can lead to long term impacts on the brain. As research done on teens illustrates, “We have observed that some changes in cognitive function, particularly in response time rather than accuracy, occurred with a latency period of 1 year and that some changes were associated with increased exposure” (Thomas et al. 865). The response of the teens to different activities had slowed down immensely, and the overall accuracy reduced. The long-term exposure to electromagnetic waves, especially in the teen development stage will cause an alteration in the cognitive development of children. As a result, the pertinent aspects of mental and memory development will be affected in adulthood. The overreliance on mobile phones and the internet by students is causing more harm than good. During the teen years, development requires the constant exercise of the main cognitive elements. Unfortunately, the constant access to internet memory and exposure to the waves used in mobile technology impacts negatively on the process of development. Parents and teachers need to be vigilant in the use of mobile phones for students as it limits development.
The impacts of mobile phones on students have often been viewed from a negative perspective as it causes a lack of concentration and cheating; however, the use of mobile phones has increased research opportunities and better interactions among students. The use of mobile phones on students has vast negative and positive impacts on students. In the majority of researches, the negative aspects seem to overpower the positive development among students. The social group requires constant accuracy, increased memory, and mental sharpness, which is reduced by constantly relying on mobile phones. However, positive elements of using the mobile phone can also be viewed. As a result, other concepts can be applied to ensure the students can harness more of the positive than negatives. Lecturers and faculty members should correctly advise the students on the impacts of mobile phones on their future, especially professional careers. As a result, the students will ensure the mobile devices are tools that aid in their success rather than contributing to their failures. Mobile phones are part of modern society and are likely to impact students more in the future. As a result, policies and corrective measures should be taken in tertiary institutions to ensure students gain the best from the use of the gadgets and the internet connection.