1. Yla Mhilene Aloro HUMSS 1
Norlyn Dumaraya EAPP
A Position Paper
Issue: Texting and cell phone use has caused young people to be less able to concentrate and
focus on their studies.
Communication is the act or process of using words, sounds, signs, or behaviour to
express or exchange information or to express your ideas, thoughts, and feelings to someone
else. One of the methods of communication is texting by using cell phones. Today’s cell phones
are more than just phones; they are high-tech gadgets that also serve as mini-computers.
Using of cell phones is very common to people especially teenagers. By using cell
phones, we are able to communicate with our friends, peers, family, and even our relatives. We
could easily contact them in times of emergencies, making projects, or any important matters.
Through text messaging we can easily send and receive information from long distances without
any hassle. When a voice conversation is overkill, too embarrassing, or just not convenient, text
messaging really comes in handy. Texting is the “killer app” these days which has eclipsed e-
mail communication now considered among kids as “old school”. Even many parents admit that
it is one of the best ways to check up on their kids remind them of important events, or quickly
communicate a change in plans. But is it possible for students to study and do their homework
effectively while being distracted by cell phone? With nearly everyone after the age of 10 having
a cell phone and access to the internet these days, it’s quite common to find students dividing
their attention between texting, checking social media websites and surfing the internet while
doing homework and studying for exams. Given that text messaging is the way many students
communicate with each other, it’s not easy for parents to explain to them that when it’s time to
do homework or study for an exam its necessary to turn their phone off.
2. In a study conducted by Dr. Larry Rosen, a psychology professor at California state
university- Dominguez Hills, students were observed studying for a 15 minutes period where
they were told to “study something important.” He found was that students generally started to
lose focus after about 3 minutes. Dr. Rosen did another study where he surveyed High School
students and asked them how often they switch from studying to doing something related to
technology such as texting. Across all grade levels 80% of students reported that they switch
between studying and technology somewhat often to very often. Rosen calls this “Continuous
Partial Attention” meaning most of the time; students are not focused on studying but rather
moving their attention back and forth between studying and various forms of technology.
Distraction really exists when we are using cell phones when studying and doing
homework. We lose focus and concentration because we divide our attention between cell phone
and academic works. Instead of studying and doing homework in a short period or in an enough
time, we spend more time and we cannot finish it as soon as possible because of this so-called
distraction. Yes. Indeed it’s a distraction but others still say that it is not because of the one we
called multitasking. Multitasking is when we do different things at the same time. Multitasking is
good but again, we cannot focus and concentrate in a specific thing because our time and
attention is divided into different things.
3. References:
Beyond BookSmart Blog: Executive Functioning Strategies (2015)
http//:www.beyondbooksmart.com/executive-functioning-strategies-blog/distracted-by-
tech
How Social Media is Killing Students (2013)
http//:www.onlinecollegecourses.com/2013/05/22/how-social-media-is-killing-students-
succeed
Sabella, Russell A. Ph.D. (2010) Cell phones, Texting, and Cell Phone Distractions
http//:www.education.com/reference/article/cellphones-texting-cell-phone-distraction
