New research from the Education Database Online shows that digital devices can become vices on college campuses. When technology comes into play, grades and social life are taking a hit.
Rafael Alfaro, a junior at Brigham Young University studying Political Science reflects the vast majority of college students that are constantly plugged into technology. The education database online found 98 percent of students own digital devices and 38 percent can’t go more than 10 minutes without using one. Many students claim they couldn’t do schoolwork without it.
Alfaro says, “I feel it’s necessary now. I’m just too used to it.”
Even though students use technology for school, Renata Forste, a sociology professor at BYU, did a study on the effects technology can have on academics. She found technology can actually hurt their grades.
Forste said, “There was a clearly negative relation to how much time (was spent) in their technology use and their GPA.”
She says multi-tasking is to blame saying, “62% of students say they were doing more than one thing while they were studying. They’re in class and they’re checking their email. So, i think it’s that distractibility. It’s just easy to let yourself get engaged in something when it’s very accessible as opposed to focusing on the school work.”
Even knowing the negative impacts of technology, Aflaro says he does not plan on cutting back his use any time soon.
