Students at BHS have fallen into the routine of logging onto their laptops and preparing to learn from their screens. Technology has been so integrated into today’s classrooms that it has become a large part of a student’s daily routine.
While many students claim that using technology helps them to learn, this may also be negatively affecting them as well. The many hours they spend on the computers could be damaging.
According to a survey involving 70 students at Buffalo High School, approximately 66% of students self-reported that they learn better when using technology.
“Technology is really useful for school. It has good websites to use for some assignments,” Lauren Berg ‘26 said. “Personally, I use Google the most to find information about my school work and help me expand my education.”
One of the benefits of technology students mentioned was having the ability to catch up on assignments they have missed. Websites like Google Classroom help students stay up-to-date on what is going on in class, even if they are not there.
“[Google Classroom] is very helpful,” Kaitlyn Bode ‘25 mentioned. “Especially when you miss a day of school, it makes it easier to catch up on stuff so you don’t fall behind.”
Contrary to students’ opinions on the way technology impacts them, studies show that learning from paper holds many benefits.
A study of Japanese university students done by the University of Tokyo showed that writing on physical paper leads to more brain activity when remembering the information an hour later.
Another study from Oxford Learning found that “When students take notes by hand, they develop a stronger and better understanding than by typing.”
The survey results showed that more people said that they like working online over working on paper, but not by much. Some students we talked to had an opposing view.
“I prefer paper because I feel more responsible for it,” Alexis Decker ‘25 said. “It’s easier to get done and not procrastinate… I perform better on paper than technology because it’s less distracting and I’m more organized. I just feel smarter when I’m writing with a pencil.”
Technology has many benefits, however using these resources can often lead to distractions for many students.
As teachers instruct their class to begin working on their laptops, many students click onto unrelated tabs.
Even students who would be diligently working on their assignment, had it been on paper, can be found playing games on sneaky unblocked websites and watching shows and movies on various streaming services.
Bode stated, “Sometimes [technology] can be a distraction because you can be in direct contact with anyone in seconds and it may be more interesting than what the teacher is saying.”
Along with being distracting, technology opens up the door to new ways to cheat. As AI is rapidly growing, students can be tempted to exploit its capabilities instead of doing the work themselves.
“It’s easy to just go to other tabs and do other things… It’s so easy to cheat. I know a lot of people who do cheat on computer tests,” Decker said.
Spending so much time looking at a screen all day can also affect students’ mental, physical, and emotional health.
A study done by a San Diego State University psychologist in 2017 found that increased screen time may have contributed to the rise of depression and suicide-related thoughts and behaviors in America’s young people.
Another study led by Yale Psychiatric Department and Columbia School of Nursing showed that youth who spend the most time on screens are statistically more likely to develop depression, anxiety, social anxiety, or somatic symptoms.
According to the American Optometric Association, people who spend a lot of time working on screens often experience vision problems.
“I feel like technology stresses me out,” Decker mentioned. “Everything is on technology now and I feel like we should be more hands on learning instead of just videos and slides. Looking at screens is bad for your mental health and overall health. It gives me headaches staring at screens all day.”
Technology has become such a large part of the education experience nowadays. It is important to be aware of how it impacts you daily in negative ways as well. If you’re often found looking at a screen, then it is important to take breaks throughout the day.
