does technology affect students

Distracted youth
In my time as a student I have written many essays, and I finish them most in about an hour, at least the ones were my phone is not involved. This essay took me all weekend. Not because it was challenging but because every five minutes I stopped typing and checked Instagram. I believe that technology is distracting students in a very powerful yet subtle way. The urge to use technology in class is affecting students by taking up their attention. So many outside distractions make it hard for the teacher to compete with social media for the student’s attention. The worst part might be that students don’t see the effect that technology is having on their attention spans. They don’t see technology as a roadblock for education. People might say that technology enhances education because it gives more information faster, and that is true except for the fact that students are misusing the power of technology by going off track and essentially missing the lesson being taught.
The internet is a great and expansive place, and that is why sometimes students rather explore it then listen to their teachers. All these sites and apps are taking up the attention of students throughout the world. This is shown in a Canadian study which proves that computers are helping lower the users grade and his or hers classmates as well. The experiment showed that students who were using computers during the lecture had lower grades than those who were using pen and paper. The worst part is that students around the computer user were also affected and they too had lower grades. A professor at NYU said that “screens generate distraction in a manner akin to second-hand smoke.” He teaches Media Studies and was an advocate for the use of technology during class. The tipping point for him was when he realized that the distractions spread. He no longer allows the use of technological devices unless the assignment requires it. He also stated that when technology was removed from the