From the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Cell phones, Web sites snaring students

By Tina Ashchian
Piper High

February 7 2008

Do you find yourself constantly sneaking a text in class or having an urge to check your MySpace or Facebook page whenever Internet access is available?

In our wired generation, wireless devices such as cell phones allow teens to access the world through their fingertips.

But this continuous access is not always good and can lead to addiction and stress.

Like many teens, Ashley Hess, a junior at Piper High, gets anxious without her beloved Sidekick.

"I always get in trouble for having it," she said. "It keeps me from paying attention in class."

Without access to the computer or cell phone, people can feel cut off from the world and not up-to-date with their friends.

"I would feel a bit of anxiety without my computer or cell phone," College Academy @ BCC junior Heather O'Rourke said. "They're my ways of communicating with my friends when I'm not at school or hanging out with them."

Cell phones are a major factor in procrastination and distraction in school and schoolwork.

According to Teenage Research Limited, texting is the second most popular use for mobile phones, while the first is checking the time.

"I really cannot live a day without my cell phone. I would feel incomplete and even unsafe walking around without it," said Calvary Chapel Academy junior Caitlin Warner. "I can honestly say without my cell phone or computer, I would definitely lose touch with all of my friends. With all the high-tech technology we have these days, we become so dependent on them."

Social networking Web sites such as MySpace and Facebook further fuel the obsession.

"Since MySpace and Facebook have become more popular, I've been spending less time studying than I used to," O'Rourke said.

More than half (55 percent) of all online American youths ages 12-17 use such sites, according to a national survey conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

"I do go on my computer more than I should, and I always have a hard time getting off," Warner said.

Dr. Kimberly Young, a psychologist who studies Internet addiction, identifies several addiction warning signs in her book Caught in the Net. They include changes in sleeping habits, academic problems, irritability when cut off from computer use and withdrawal from family and friends.

Are you finding yourself avoiding homework with YouTube?

The solution, says Parent Advocate Sue Scheff on her Web site, is to maintain a healthy balance between real and virtual life.