Mobile phones undeniably bring great convenience to people’s life. However, this also poses a problem for schools: whether they should allow their students to use phones in class? Some people support the banning of mobiles phones in schools, while others consider mobiles phones as acceptable on campus. Considering the benefits of mobile phones, I firmly argue that students should be allowed to use mobile phones at school. This essay will first examine views from both sides and then present a detailed explanation for supporting mobile phone using at school.
For advocates, the most prominent advantage that mobile phones bring to students is the accessibility towards the Internet. This, as believed by supporters, benefits children’s academic performance: they can find almost everything they need on the web, ranging from daily how-to questions to knowledge within specific fields. Students do not have to wait for classes to resolve their difficulties. Instead, they can search through the web by themselves. This process gives them not only the immediate and accurate answer, but also the ability to gather and filter information for what they need, greatly improving their learning outcomes.
The opponents, however, worries that the advantages above may be cancelled off by the problems mobile phones may cause. They claim that students, especially children and adolescents, often lack necessary self-discipline to help them monitor their behavior and learning goals. In this case, mobile phones are more likely to be distractions rather than merits. Allowing such electronic devices may tempt children to be absent-minded during class, as they may focus on chatting and socializing via applications rather than listening to their teachers’ instructions. The consequences are predictable–students fail to learn anything from their classes, and their learning outcomes, along with their academic career, may be undermined in the long run.
Despite these potential problems, I nevertheless support the on-campus usage of mobile phones. These handheld devices not only allow students to acquire aforementioned common knowledge but also open a window towards the frontier of various disciplines: students can get access to latest publications and cutting-edge discoveries in the fields they are interested in. Passion for scientific research is often ignited through this process: students may be fascinated by the methodologies involved in research papers and decide their furutre career and field of research. This re-orientation, as I believe, is possibly the most meaningful and profound impact on students.
Even though the impact of mobile phones on children is still under dispute, mobile phones should still be allowed in campus, due to its positive influences on students’ academic career. In a society where most activities are computerized, early exposure to electronic devices is not a bad thing for children.