Antioch Community High School students find that multitasking during school can lead to stressful situations.
Mobile Devices Encourage Multitasking
Cell phones in the classroom are limiting teen efficiency
For students, using technology allows for multitasking and building stronger social connections. For teachers, technology may prove the opposite: it hinders productivity. A recent poll of 90 students found that teens at Antioch Community High School spend an average of six hours per day on mobile devices, which pushes students to multitask to meet the requirements of busy schedules.
Multitasking is the use of mobile devices for entertainment while doing schoolwork. English teacher Kelly Taylor believes that students cannot be productive while multitasking.
“We are less effective as people if we are trying to do a series of tasks all woven together at the same time,” Taylor said.
Freshman Nathan Shipman believes that mobile devices are the only way to stay connected while managing schoolwork, playing baseball and skiing.
“We like to be engaged in everything like social media,” Shipman said. “I think that we’re forced to [multitask] if we want to have the phone plus the work plus sports. You have to be able to multitask and do a bunch of different things.”
Junior Katelyn Amodeo agrees; she feels that teens struggle to prioritize school work over mobile devices.
“I think we need to pay attention to what we’re planning and doing, which is difficult for teenagers,” Amodeo said. “It’s hard for teenagers to choose between something that’s going to take time for them to get benefit out of and something they can immediately seek reward in.”
Still, Taylor doesn’t expect teenagers to change their actions to get more done.
“Even if we know that [technology] might not be good for us, we’re too far in and we’re not going back,” Taylor said.