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| Akıllı telefonların liseli öğrenciler üzerindeki etkisini sorgulatan bir TOEFL writing sorusu |
In many high schools, students are not allowed to bring their smartphones to class, based on the assumption that doing otherwise will deteriorate their academic performance and social skills.
Do you think this is a good idea?
Many high schools have adopted a policy banning phone use at school, aiming to help them fully focus on academic studies and maintain healthier social relationships with their peers. Much as it sounds a bit too restrictive, I believe that it is a step in the right direction.
Most significantly, modern smartphones are choke full of applications that provide virtually unlimited fun. With constantly updated entertaining content on applications like Tik Tok and Twitter, it becomes impossible not to want to keep an eye on them. It would require nerves of steel to spare all our attention to lessons, while the other option is instant access to fun. Undoubtedly, a study environment freed from potentially distracting stimuli is key to maintaining focus, particularly for high school students, for whom entertainment matters more than anything else does.
We should not underestimate the superficiality of relationships in modern age, as well. We no longer feel the need to invest much in our friends, just because we can connect with some other people online within a matter of seconds. No group of people is exempt from this, whether adults or adolescents. In this case, the best option appears to be preventing access to what causes the trouble, that is smartphones. With no chance to access to social media, high schoolers will eventually try to develop skills for real friendship, at least throughout school hours.
Not necessarily in first-world countries, but in poverty-stricken ones, ownership of fancy devices will likely prompt students with disadvantaged backgrounds envy their richer friends. No child or teenager should be exposed to such heart-breaking experiences, especially when the goal is to build skills for a bright future ahead. If their minds gets stuck at not being able to afford high-tech gadgets, a sense of inferiority will prevail, potentially ruining their emotional well-being, thus their performance at school.
In conclusion, I believe that it is best smartphones be kept away from high schools, since their presence encourages an academically distracting environment where even friendships tend to not root properly.