Students are addicted to their phones. This has caused professors to have a no phone policy or some type of rule when students are able to use their phone.
Professors and teachers just want students to learn and get all the information they can when taking the course. When having a distraction like their cell phone, it's hard to keep the students engaged and understanding the content. Professors have had to decide whether or not to implement a phone policy.
Dr. Kate Riffee, an Ohio Wesleyan professor, explains her thoughts on this.
“Well, I didn’t have an “explicit” policy when I first started at OWU. I thought it was “implied” that using/looking at a phone during class would be rude and distracting. I believe it is. Teaching a class at 8:00 am is difficult enough with everyone being tired and overwhelmed. It’s hard enough to comprehend material that early in the morning without having the distraction of a phone.”
It is rude and distracting when a student is paying more attention to a phone when they need to be present for their expensive education.
Aubrey Babics, a sophomore student at Walsh University and majoring in exercise science, says she likes a no-phone policy.
“I have a no-phone policy in bio lab. it definitely makes me pay attention more and be more engaged” Babics states.
When forcing students to step away from the addiction and key in on something going on physically in front of them, it helps students to focus on the lecture or lab.
Potential benefits from a no-phone policy include less cyberbullying, improved attendance rates, and improved mental health for students.
When students are comparing themselves constantly, different emotions like jealousy, frustration, and hopelessness creep into their lives.
Graci Semptimphelter, an Ohio Wesleyan student, sees the benefits.
“In my Business 120 class my professor has a no phone policy. We can't have it out at all or be on it whatsoever. It makes me pay more attention to be honest because I completely forget that it's in my bag and am engaged during the whole class.”
What happens though is professors don't have a no-phone policy? Are students respectful enough to stay away from the ding while in the middle of a lecture? Is it worth having to sit right next to you, if you're going to constantly look at it? It's almost for students' own sanity to put their cell phones away.
Kasey Schipfer, an OWU senior, believes phones are a distraction.
“Some of my professors ask for no phones, but they don’t have a strict policy for them except during exams. I have not been told though to put my phone away from off of my desk during lecture. At times it definitely causes me to pay less attention. It will pull me away from the class.”
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