By Sara Feld
Calendar Editor
From cell phones to computers, Mira Costa students now have constant access to social media websites everyday at school, increasing the likelihood of students being distracted or less attentive in the classroom.
Students at Costa can access all social media websites, such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, on the school’s Wi-Fi, enabling them to use their tablets and computers for non-educational purposes during school hours. Uncontrolled social media use in school may beckon a student’s attention and hinder that student’s ability to learn. Blocking social media websites would prevent students from being distracted in class and promote a more attentive classroom environment.
According to many students, blocking social media sites will help students focus better during class. From personal experience, sophomore Olivia Everhard believes many students are taking advantage of Costa’s new Mobile Device Initiative policy and are using their devices for non-academic programs. By blocking social media sites, the school can reduce the temptation for students to become distracted and ensure that devices are being used appropriately.
It is important that students have a say in how they use their devices, but allowing students to have free reign over social media during school hours is not educationally beneficial. Although every student has the option of whether or not to use social media during class, many students naturally take advantage of what is provided to them and become constantly off-task.
The use of social media is often thought to depend on the situation and learning environment that each teacher wants for his or her individual classroom. While there can be times where the use of social media is appropriate and beneficial to learning, steps to improve enforcement of proper device usage in the classroom need to be taken to control the overuse of social media during class hours.
According to Costa Principal Dr. Ben Dale, it is disrespectful for students to use social media while a teacher is teaching a lesson. This lack of focus could be a result of teachers not effectively restricting the use of devices in class. There can be times when using social media is appropriate, but more than often, it is disrespectful to both teachers and other classmates.
According to an article in the New York Times, social media enables people to communicate but in return replaces face-to-face time with others and impedes real human connections. Considering social media is constantly present in many aspects of contemporary life, Costa should work toward supporting authentic social interactions in school by regulating technology and social media. Schools cannot control how students use technology outside of the classroom, but keeping the use of technology at Costa strictly educational will teach students to use their devices as supplements to their education rather than sources of entertainment.
Limiting the use of social media on campus Wi-Fi could also potentially reduce the strain of school servers, allowing more effective use of this internet resource for academic purposes. It should be a priority for the district to promote the appropriate use of the resources that it has provided at a significant financial cost.
In order to preserve the beneficial learning environment and social interactions both in and outside the classroom, Costa should block or regulate the access of social media by controlling the use of the campus wide Wi-Fi.
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