As the digital age advances, many people, especially teenage students, forget how much of a necessity a cell phone has become for many. We look around us and see every one with them. Moreover, being at a cutting edge, technology high school does not help our cause. Now just imagine life living without them: how do students survive?
After having the use of his dad’s cell phone for one week and never using it, Foothill junior Michael Huang does not see the purpose of having a phone. In an interview Huang says that not having a cell phone is “liberating.” If you look around campus, you see many students tied to their phones, whether it is in or out of class.
Sure, it is cool to have a phone, say most, but must students spend their time with their phone glued to their hand or ear?
“You see kids texting in class, checking the internet, playing games using iPhone all of the time,” says Huang. Despite every now and then, feeling isolated or left out from not having one, Huang stands by his statement, “I don’t see the need to have [a cell phone].”
Foothill’s Assistant Principal, Ms. LaSonja Temple, has a similar take. While walking around campus and going into various classrooms, she has occasionally seized student phones where abuse has occurred.
“Yesterday, I went into one class and confiscated two phones,” says Ms. Temple. While this is not a serious problem here at Foothill, with about five cases of students having been sent to the office last year, it remains an enticing distraction from the learning environment.
While communication is the key to having a phone, it serves a deeper purpose. Most students receive phones to stay in touch with friends and family. This happens to be the case for sophomore Ciana Iverson.
Quite recently, Iverson’s cell phone broke, and she has now been without one for 3 weeks. She stated that she used her phone everyday, mainly for staying in touch with her parents after school hours. Despite how often she might text throughout the day, she feels that phones “are really only for emergencies.”
In case of emergencies though a cell phone is the only method of communication to call for help. Payphones are now so scarce, they are a true novelty in most public places. Other than relying on friends who have phones, most would have to “hope for the best” in these types of situations when unaccompanied.
On a practical note, some students may feel justified not carrying cell phones to school due to the recent restrictive laws on cell phone use. California drivers are now subject to recent legislation prohibiting driver’s use of the devises for calls or texting while driving.
While this makes the rest of society safer, it probably discourages a few teen drivers from having a cell phone at the ready if they fear they might “slip” and get a ticket.
Photo: Sophomore Ciana Iverson will be happier when she gets a new phone to replace her broken one. Photo by Alison English, The Foothill Dragon Press.
