Are smartphones lowering school students’ grades?

Most school teachers are fighting a losing battle with smartphones and other devices for attention in the classroom. Students are spending time chatting, surfing the web, posting on social media, and even watching OTT series while the teacher is instructing. It’s much easier now since kids are at home and they don’t even need to hide the device. But does this actually affect grades? Yes, as some recent research reports have clearly proved.  

What did the research papers reveal about smartphones and grades?  
In a study published in the Journal of Educational Psychology in mid-2021, researchers surveyed 118 college students, and realised that the ones with mobiles and laptops open on unrelated pages scored a half grade lower than the rest. Their habits went back to school life. These students checked their phones more than 11 times on average during college days. It was not just a glance towards missed calls. They actually admitted to spending up to 20% of their classroom time texting, emailing, surfing the web, checking social media, and even playing games. The students said they were confident their devices did not distract them, since they were habituated to them form school. But when the survey results were revealed, the lower grades could not be denied.  

Why does using smartphones lower the grades of the students?  
It was not just a matter of distraction in the classroom. The effect of the smartphones was deeper than that. We refer to another study by Stanford University this year. It showed that the devices did not always lower scores for immediate comprehension tests in the class. So the students could actually pay attention for the time being to the teacher and the phone. But annual exams and any test conducted after that particular class showed up the poorer grades clearly again.  

It means the students were not able to retain what happened in class. The were so distracted that the class got wiped from their memories.  

Are smartphones more than just a distraction?  
Our brains are not equipped to multitask beyond a point. Students think they are listening to the teacher, checking instant messages, watching a video, and it can all be juggled together. But it doesn’t work that way.  

Their brains retain a little bit of everything, and get refreshed only when they revisit what they were doing. The problem is that they do revisit all the activities on the phone, but they can’t revisit a class that’s over.  

The result shows up in the exams.