By Lauren Murray ’27, staff writer
Have you ever sat down in the library, ready to get some schoolwork done, and your phone starts buzzing with notifications? Before you know it, you’re 45 minutes deep into what you thought was going to be a study session, but now you’re texting your mom, best friend and adding an Instagram and TikTok scroll into the mix.
You start to study, but now you feel the need to check your phone for messages or updates constantly. With the world at your fingertips, it’s overwhelming as the apps are designed to pull you in, and it can be hard to disengage.
According to a study in 2016 by the EAB (formerly the Educational Advisory Board), 97% of college students are distracted by smartphones while in class, and 82% of Gen-Z saw social media as a distraction while doing their schoolwork. In the same survey, it was found that due to social media, 75% of females and 56% of males compared themselves to their peers, and some felt inferior to them.
Using a phone during class or studying can encourage multitasking, which reduces focus and memory, and can lead to lower GPAs and anxiety. Even though people can turn off their notifications, they still can experience FOMO (fear of missing out) and wonder what they are missing out on.
It’s safe to say that because Gen Z is the first generation to have been born and raised with the internet, smartphones, and social media, also known as “digital natives,” this is something that our parents and ancestors did not have to deal with. It is now up to us to figure out how to adapt and get work done with a constant distraction.
This is a real issue that, if left unaddressed, could negatively impact students. There are many ways that both LVC and students individually can improve their focus and overall mental health in a digital age.
There has been a push in colleges to create “no phone zones” that restrict or stop cell phone usage.
One idea that I have for LVC and other colleges is to create no-phone zones in certain areas of the college. A student would either not bring their phone at all to the zone, or they would put their phone in a cubby or area that a student worker would monitor to make sure it was not stolen. Students could get their phones at any time, but would only be able to use them if they left the zone.
Another idea is to have lockboxes in study rooms at LVC. A student would simply place their phone in the box, and it would have a timer that the student could set, and until the timer is up, they would not be able to get their phone out. Again, a student worker would have a master key that could get into any box at any time in case of an emergency.
There are ways that students can individually implement fewer distractions for themselves. For phones, there are apps that stop a person’s ability to use distracting platforms. For example, the free app “Focus Friend” locks down unnecessary apps for the time you set it to.
An individual then earns “sock point rewards” for their pinto bean character that they can use to decorate the pinto bean’s home. There is also a break feature to implement breaks. This is an app that I have had a lot of success with in college. I simply set it for 25 minutes and take a 5-minute break, also known as the pomodoro method.
Also, many smartphones have focus settings that you can select, which will limit notifications to what you select.
Getting distracted in class or while studying is normal and is bound to happen for most students. However, it is up to Gen Z and future generations to figure out how to coexist with the digital age instead of letting it take over our world.