College and Cell Phones

After reading an article on Mashable about how cell phones have changed the college experience, I began to examine my own experiences. 


When I started college I was in the Air Force living in Turkey. No one there had a cell phone unless it was for work. The same was true in Germany for the most part. Of course, no one had iPads or the internet on their phones either. The classes seemed more focused. Was it because no one was distracted by their phones or have smartphones in general made us all more scatterbrained, even when we aren't using them? Are we all turning into the people from those Bing commercials?


It wasn't until I started college in the US in 2010 that I began to notice people using their phones in class. Personally I think it is rude, especially when students try to be sneaky about it. I then fall victim to distraction, stop listening and keep looking over thinking "are they really on their phone?" I try to give people the benefit of the doubt, but the Words with Friends screen is pretty unmistakable. The majority of cell phone use in class is not beneficial.


But can they help it? The article states that 60% of all students have tech addiction. That's not surprising when 75% of students say their phone never leaves their side. 93% of students say their phones make their lives easier, which is probably true. However, when are we going to cross that line when our tech addiction starts to make our lives harder?