Students on their phones in the living room. Photo: Mr. John Spear.
Phones are an important tool used in everyday life, but they are being used less as a tool to improve productivity and becoming a bigger distraction for students. People are spending more time on their phones than studying, doing homework, or even socializing. Phones have helped make finding knowledge easier as well as bringing a form of entertainment into your pocket. They can connect the user with people from all around the world. However, they are also becoming overused. Because you can “socialize” so much over the phone, kids spend less time talking IRL [in real life]. Phone use also takes time away from studying or training for athletics.
The Mirror spoke with students and faculty at Northwood about their phones and how they were being used. Here is what we learned.
Morgan Smith ’24 on her phone in the living room. Photo: Maegan Byrne ’24.
“I mostly use my phone for communication,” Morgan Smith ’24 said. “I use Snapchat, text messages, and phone calls to talk to friends and family. I also use my phone to keep organized and keep schedules.” Smith sees some problems with her phone use. “I think there are major downsides to phones, like how distracting they are and how they limit socializing with people outside of phones,” Smith said. “My phone also keeps me up at night and can mess up my sleep schedule,” she added.
Scout Oudemool ‘24 thinks that phones are both a distraction and a useful tool. “I mostly use my phone for texting people, and to Google things for schoolwork. I think I should use my phone less when studying and not get as distracted on social media or watching shows,” Oudemool said.
Eduardo Campos de Aguiar ’25 also sees the pros and cons of his phone use. “My phone is both a distraction and a tool. For me, it’s a distraction in my free time, but when I need it, it can be a good thing. I use my phone for schoolwork and talking to friends and family back home. I think I spend an okay amount of time on my phone and think it’s useful,” he said.
“I think that phones can be a good resource, but you need to learn to navigate it,” Ms. Leigh Riffle said. “There are a lot of benefits to phones but also a lot of cons,” Riffle said. “One of the stinky things about phones is when you walk into the dining hall or living room, there’s not a lot of conversations, just everyone sitting there on their phones,” she added.
