Mobile Phones

of Students Mobile Phone Use
Mobile phone use in school by students, children, teen, sexting sms Mobile phone are arguably another revolutionary invention of our time, besides computer and internet technologies.
Kids love them - it's fun and cool. It is an effective tool for communication. The mushrooming new technologies equip the mobile phones to become mini-computers, facilitating searches for information and enhancing it value in education.
While enjoying the benefits in teaching and learning, we should also be aware of the perils that come with it.
A recent Australian survey found that almost 70% of kids aged 18 years have mobile phones, and a quarter of primary school-aged children are allowed to take their phones to bed with them.
Texting and picture messaging are so prevalent in US high schools and colleges, the administrators are desperately looking into ways to deal with the problem, such as electronic phone detectors or mobile phone signal blocking.
The side-effects of mobile phone use in kids:
Students can become sleep-deprived on school nights and lack of concentration during school hours. The Australian psychologist Dr Michael Carr-Gregg suggested that children should be quarantined from all technological devices in the evening and mobile phones should not be allowed in the kids’ bedrooms;
It causes disruption in learning, whether it is at home while doing homework, or during class time. When there is an incoming message, usually a “conversation” ensues, as kids may not be able to exercise strong self-control.
Sexting is not uncommon in our society where mobile phone users transmit and share inappropriate messages or images among friends, including those of violent or sexual nature, or in breach of someone’s privacy;
Cyber bullying: mobile phones provide a level of anonymity and “spreadability”. It can be used as a viral communication tool sending message to a large number of contacts at once. It can also be used to harass others causing grief that may take weeks or months to overcome by the “victims”
Cheating: kids get really “good at it”. They can text with the mobile phones in their bags, pockets, purse or from hoodies. As the phones are getting so small and the students so familiar with the devices, if the students want to text, they can always “find ways to get around things”, a principal warned.
Mobile phone that are lost or stolen can create concerns for school administrators. A UK research found that children of school age are at least five times more likely to become victims of mobile phone theft, including robbery, than adults. Looking for misplaced or stolen phones can also take valuable time away from teachers and cause stress to kids themselves.
Many teachers in US schools support the use of electronic detectors, which would send signals to a pager-like device carried by a teacher when a student send a phone message.
In Australia, only very few schools ban the use of mobile phones during school hours, mostly out of the concerns relating to cyber bullying.
Technologies provide great value to our society, to our kids. However, the use of these wonderful devices does require close supervision and effective management by both the educators and the parents. It is the adult’s job to teach and address the kids, among other things, about what is right and wrong in the use of mobile phones.