Staff, student find little negative impact of smart phones at Holmes

Technology and social media are staples of any teenagers’ life. From smartphones to school computers, much of a teenagers’ life is online. Many might wonder about how addicted the average teenager is to technology. How do teachers, teenagers, and science differ about teenagers’ reliance on technology?

According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, teens on average spend about nine hours a day on screens.

However, teachers at Holmes Junior High find that students aren’t on their phones all that much during class. “I’d like to say I’m both surprised and thankful for the low amount of phones that are out during class,” said Kevin Kuker, a teacher at Holmes.

Kuker added that allowing students to use their phones in an emergency or between periods of instruction has helped keep students off of their devices. “I think there has to be a degree of flexibility, too.  For example, if a student needs to quickly text their parents to tell them a practice or game is cancelled, you know that’s the only thing on their mind during that moment in time, so it’s probably more beneficial to let the student take the few seconds, take out their phone and text their mom, rather than adhering to the hard and fast rule and not letting them text their parents until a passing period comes up,” Kuker said.

As for how students feel about their screen time, Aubrey Wiedman, a sophomore said, “I spend about five hours a day on my phone and I assume that that’s the average for many teenagers.” After being told about the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry’s findings, Wiedman said, “That surprises me. I don’t think that many teenagers have that much spare time to spend on their phone.”

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