One morning, junior Luke Paulus was sitting in his car outside the school, waiting for it to turn 6:45 so he could enter. He became curious and decided to check his screen time and he was very happy to see he only had four hours, he knew other students had 3 times that

Teachers have noticed that students who are distracted on their phones are usually the ones who struggle in their classroom. Paulus has noticed that if they are more engaged in their class and not distracted on their devices, they tend to do better in that class.

“As much as it pains me to say it, yes, I do see higher quiz scores, because if you are in a teacher’s class who doesn’t care whether or not you are on your phone or doesn’t discipline you for it, you are more likely to be distracted on your phone in that class, but if a teacher does care, you will be more engaged in that class,” Paulus said. 

Some school related tools on a phone can be useful, but according to junior Chase Williams Williams, the negatives outweigh the positives.

“I think some digital tools like Quizlet, and digital flashcards are useful, but I think that overall the focus that the phone can take away from your education is more detrimental than positive, ” Williams said.

According to MyKidsVision, the average screen time for teens is eight hours and 40 minutes. Paulus believes that students who are on their phones for even half of that time, is bordering on too much.  

“So say you are awake 14 hours a day, at school for seven of those 14, so you have 7 free hours, then I would say if you are on your phone for over four hours then you really are wasting most of your free time,” Paulus said.

Williams and Paulus both own a screen time of around four hours, respectively, Williams and Paulus also both said that they try to stay off their phones as much as possible during school, they only use their phones for assignments, and when it is required. 

“When I am doing homework I always sit at the kitchen table, I keep my phone in my room plugged up so I can’t be tempted to get onto it,” Paulus said.

While students have found ways to cut down their screen time, the question is, have teachers? Spanish teacher at FHC, Dr. Caitlin Crain, has found her way.

“For me, teaching wise I want to try and get up and talk to kids more, and set an example and not just sit on my computer,” Crain said.