Classroom Texting: Student Ethics In The Digital Age

Student Ethics in the Digital Age College students across the United States are being heavily influenced by mobile phones and texting which is a growing epidemic in the classroom and is causing student’s grades and test scores to suffer. With the growth of not only texting but social media apps and other addicting features, students lose focus from their studies. The use of mobile devices during school distracts students from learning and undermines their ethics. One reason why students feel the need to use phones in the classroom is because they are addicted to the social principle of instant communication. In the academic article regarding a survey, “Classroom Texting in College Students,” by Terry F. Pettijohn, Erik Frazier, Elizabeth Rieser, Nicholas Vaughn, and Bobbi Hupp-Wilds of Ohio State University, the authors stated texting was caused by students wanting to socialize with their friends and family over the phone (Pettijohn,

McDonald stated that there’s a correlation between grades decreasing as the use of mobile devices in the classroom increases (McDonald). When students continue to text or socialize on their phone during lessons, they become distracted and lose focus. As students lose focus, their work ethics begin to decline which in turn lowers their scores. The amount of use can also have an effect on a student’s work ethics. Test scores face negative effects due to texting in the classroom. In the article, “The Costs of Texting in the Classroom,” by Dakota Lawson and Bruce B. Henderson, they said texting students performed 10% worse on tests and knew their phone use was to blame (Lawson and Henderson). Much like final grades, test scores have the same effect when students are distracted by devices in class. They lose focus and do not obtain the information needed to study or do well on tests. Effects of little use on mobile devices in class have a different