Eric_Heintzen by Freestyle Academy

Studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Distractions By, Eric Heintzen

STUDENT’S DISTRACTIONS Written and Designed By, Eric Heintzen

DEDICATION

I would like to dedicate this book to Freestyle Academy for everything it has taught me. Without the teachers help and dedication this book wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have been created. I also dedicate this book to those who struggle with distractions caused by social media websites and text messaging.

Acknowledgments Special Thanks

I want to thank freestyle for giving me the opportunity to learn the specific skills in order to create a book like this. I would also like to thank my family for always being there for me and supporting me every step of the way. And Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to thank the people I interviewed and for their insight they shared with me about the topic Lastly I would like to thank the people that I interviewed for their time and insight on my specific topic.

Table of Contents Page 1....................................................................... Title page Page 2............................................................ Dedication page Page 5....................................................... Acknowledgments Page 6........................................................... Table of contents Page 8....................................................................... Foreword Page 10.............................................................. Introduction Page 13.................................................................... Chapter 2 Page 23.................................................................... Chapter 3 Page 26.................................................................... Chapter 4 Page 28................................................................. Conclusion Page 28............................................................... Bibliography

Foreword

Many decide that it isn’t necessary to face the troubling and not fun times, but instead they choose to coast through life as another mediocre and average life. Electronic communication really started up when text messaging was invented. Thirty years ago you would have been labeled the village idiot if you thought that a cell phone would really even exist, let alone the technology to message people through that non-existent wireless phone. That village idiot who was laughed at thirty years ago is probably relaxing at his mansion on his or her own personal island. On a daily basis to relieve the stress from my academic hours I sit down at my desk and see what’s new on the social media websites I am involved in. Instead of getting right down to my homework, I give more attention to my social life. I became interested in social media after seeing how quickly these sites became popular. The purpose of this book is to paint a picture of how the social life of teenagers has become more important to them than their academics and homework. It is divided into chapters, each focusing on different viewpoints of social media, such as whether it is a distraction or a helpful resource for education. Illustrations are prevalent throughout, providing understanding of the subjects’ main ideas. To prepare this information, I have conducted an interview of my school’s principal, a 4.00 student, and a parent with a child in high school. I have also engaged in secondary research through the web. I got this information to help support my thoughts on how social media distracts students outside of an academic environment. The following images show examples of these distractions, as well as those people who do not use social media and how it is possible to keep yourself in check.

Introduction “lol.” If only I had a penny for every time I read that in a little bubble at the bottom of my computer screen. Across the planet people are joining and participating in social media websites and text messaging in order to communicate with others without speaking verbally, “face-to-face.” What causes success and failure in the learning stages of young adults lives? When you get home from a long day in hell, I mean school, who doesn’t just want to throw their feet up and relax. It’s too bad we have to wake up from our fantasy and face our hardship-filled reality. However, many choose not to face that reality, but instead to use social media as a way to escape. According to a poll taken late last year in 2011, Facebook, a globally known social media website, has over 174 million users in just North America alone.

These websites are becoming the face of the web in general due to their extensive and growing popularity. Social media is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as a form of electronic communication through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content, including text messaging on cellular phones (Mirriam Webster). Other than Facebook, websites like MySpace, Twitter, and AIM are also commonly used. Social media, while being a good outlet for stress and an easy way to socialize, can be very detrimental to studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; academic life. Considering this, to what extent should students be involved in social media? 11

Chapter 2 During my time of research for this documentary I found three people to interview on this subject due to their occupation. The first person I interviewed was a friend of mine who has a 4.0 in his senior year, at Los Altos High School. I wanted his opinion because I wanted to know how social media affected his academic achievement, either in a positive or negative way. He recently has been given a full paid tuition to UC Irvine.

“I have an account on Facebook, and I text a lot... if you count that.” Of course I count that but how much time do you spend using them is the question? “On average, I usually spend around twenty minutes a day on Facebook. It depends on how much homework I have that day and whether or not my mom is telling me to get off or not. Texting is pretty much all day... except, I don’t do it in class.” Thats not too bad, as long as you set limits on your use and avoid using text messaging during class because it can turn into a horrible habit. Wait you do set guidelines on yourself don’t you? “Oh yeah. During the school week, I try not to spend more than twenty minutes on the web. Normally I’ll just like check my notifications and stuff, like a few things maybe and answer my messages, then I’ll log off and get right down to homework. Also with texting I try not to do it in class, and I’ll let my friends know that I can’t really talk right now when I need to concentrate on my work.”(Finn)

Finnian Sheehan 4.00 student

Social Media and text messaging cause people to lose track of their school work and not do as well.

at&t is a large cell phone company that has been around for may years. It was one of the companies that made messaging so popular

The second person I interviewed was a parent very much involved in her child’s high school academics. I wanted to hear what she thought about how social media has influenced her child’s grades. I asked her a few questions about herself and whether or not she participated in social media and or used text messaging. She said, “I use social media daily in my work environment. My role is Business Development and Marketing for my the company MSA systems. I use Linkedin, Twitter, and I occasionally blog. I use these social media tools to gain attention to our website, ask for referrals, stage questions for audience attention, market new products, get info out there. Also personally I use Facebook and texting all week long to reacquaint myself with old friends to stay in touch with family with pictures. I’m not sure how Facebook can work with business development for my company. My problem with social media for business is coming up with the content. New fresh, engaging info to blog, “tweet” and use for social media.” I asked her about her teen and his involvement with social media and texting. She stated, “Maybe one hour a day. But I cannot be certain. Maybe I should put a video surveillance camera in the his room to check how much time he is spending on it? I certainly know that he uses Facebook more then he uses his phone. I seldom hear him chatting with their friends on the phone. They mostly just communicate through text messaging. In my day I talked with all my friends on the phone. There was no text messaging. Days have changed.”(Kim) I don’t think that any kid would want to be surveilled because of how much they really spend on social media websites. 17

Lastly, I had the privilege to speak to a resource teacher at Los Altos High School. Due to his career choice he sees everything that goes on during and sometimes after school hours. Knowing that, I decided to interview him to get his insight on the effects that social media has on students’ successes and failures. I asked him if he sees his students getting distracted during class because of social media websites and texting? He replied swiftly, “ Very much so, kids can’t get enough of social media sites and texting on their phones. I have to remind students to not do this in class at least once a period it seems like. And when they are in study skills I have to keep a close eye on computer use because most students try and look at Facebook and/or play games on the Facebook website. Kids need to unplug when they are in class or at school for that matter!” I could see that becoming a problem especially when other kids are getting distracted because of it. I then asked him if there were any stories about social media affecting a student in a positive or negative way. “I had a student on my case load that was getting bullied over Facebook and I had to bring this to the attention of school administration this past fall.”(Zachary) After hearing this I have come to the conclusion that Social media websites and text messaging have started to become a serious problem in an academic environment.

Chapter 3 20

The other form of social media used by many teenagers across America is text messaging. Text messaging is a form of written communication, usually sent from one cell phone to another. Before the recent technological advances, thirty years ago people had to rely mostly on verbal communication and hand-written sentiments. Since then, text messaging is being used on a daily basis by students during or after school hours. The problem with this is that students often get distracted during class by these messages, despite schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s regulations against cell phone use. These messages can result in a chain reaction of procrastinations when used in conjunction with social media. Sometimes when I get home, I find that I have a few unread text messages on my phone, putting me in the mind-set of socializing rather than sitting down and hitting the books. Once that mind-set sets in, a chain of procrastinations begin.

Google started we know as Android. It is a very popular and is used in phones

Google

Google is a huge company that provides a mailing system as well as Android 23

Microsoft was one of the first companies that pushed technology to where it is today

Many high school students’ priorities are severely in need of help. They focus more on athletics, parties, and using social media instead of the task at hand, which is achieving a solid education in order to be successful in a career of their choosing. In a college study of about 220 students at Ohio State University, those who were Facebook users had GPAs between 3.0 and 3.5, while those who weren’t had GPA’s between 3.5 and 4.0 (Goingon). This statistic shows that Facebook causes a bad work ethic, which is very important to your years of schooling and work. In a survey taken to see how often college students use social media on a daily basis, they found that, out of 2,500 students, the average time people spend on Facebook is 101.93 minutes per day, and 184.43 minutes for texting (Ask).

Chapter 4 Even though, your computer can be a distraction, it can also be very helpful in the process of schoolwork. The key to working diligently is just to stay focused in order to strive for excellence. Don’t get me wrong, I am a strong user of facebook and I text all the time. As long as I use it sparingly during the time that I designate for schoolwork I can normally get the job done. Social media and texting can both be distracting, they can also both be great stress relievers. Coming home from six hours of school and knowing that you have three hours of homework and then two tests the next day to study for. I’m getting chills just thinking about it. Adults always say, “enjoy your childhood.” How the hell am I supposed to enjoy my childhood when all I ever do is work on my academics in order to get a good job as an adult? I think that’s why many students turn to extracurricular’s like Facebook in order to get away from it all. And I understand that. We need a little break here and there during the school week just to relax.

People like me use Facebook and text messaging in order to communicate with friends and get that feeling of relaxation, but to a certain point. I often say I’m going to take a short break from my schoolwork in order to chat with friends. But twenty minutes turns into two hours and now it’s 12:00 A.M. and I’m exhausted and ready to go to bed. If you are able to control yourself and set a limit on your time of “networking” then you are “good to go.” But on the other hand, when you are like me and you are unable to keep a handle on the time you are taking not on your homework that is when you find yourself not having your homework the next day for class.

Conclusion Millions across the planet involve themselves in Messaging and using social media websites. Millions across the planet are also uneducated and unemployed. Can you link the two together? Probably not, but are these two distractions influencing teens today to decide that school is less important than

your updated relationship status or whether or not you can join your friendsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; group chat. But are these two distractions influencing teens today to decide that school is less important than your updated relationship status or whether or not you can join your friendsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; group chat.

BIBLIOGRAPHY “Facebook Statistics by Geographic Regions and World Countries.” Internet World Stats. Miniwatts Marketing Group, 2001-2012. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. <http://www.internetworldstats.com/facebook.htm>. “Goingon.com.” Does Social Networking Improve or Decrease Academic Performance?Going On Networks, 27 Sept. 2011. Web. 29 Mar. 2012. <http://goingon.com/blog/does-social-networking-improve-or-decrease-academic-performance>. 2012 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. “Social Media.” Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/social%20media>. Fang, Berlin. “From Distraction to Engagement: Wireless Devices in the Classroom.”(EDUCAUSE Quarterly). EDUCAUSE, 1999. Web. 25 Mar. 2012. <http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE Quarterly/EDUCAUSEQuarterlyMagazineVolum/FromDistractiontoEngagementWir/192959>. “Unpublished Stories.” : Facebook the Leading Online Academic Distraction. Senior at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, 23 Apr. 2007. Web. 25 Mar. 2012. <http://medillprojects.blogspot.com/2007/04/facebookleading-online-academic.html>. Endres, Jennifer, and Danielle Tisinger. “Digital-Distractions.” Welcome to NACADA. National Academic Advising Association, 1990. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. <http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Clearinghouse/Advisingissues/Digital-Distractions.htm>. “Using Technology to Reduce Distraction.” Wandering Academic. Blog, 27 Nov. 2011. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. <http:// wanderingacademic.com/technology/using-technology-to-reduce-distraction/>.

Ask. “How Much Time Does the Average Student Spend Using Technology - Ask Community.” Ask.com. Ask, 1996. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. <http://www.ask.com/answers/52978341/how-much-time-does-the-average-student-spend-using-technology>. “The Free Automatic Bibliography and Citation Maker.” EasyBib. ImagineEasy Solutions, LLC, 2001-2012. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. <http://www.easybib.com>. May, George. “Facebook Marketing Statistics, Demographics, Reports, and News CheckFacebook.” Facebook Marketing Statistics, Demographics, Reports, and News â CheckFacebook. Socialbakers, 2011. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. <http://www.checkfacebook.com/>. Waldorph, Z. (2012, April 2). Personal interview (teacher at Los Altos High School) Wilson, K. (2012, March 17). Personal interview (parent with child in Los Altos High School) Sheehan, F. (2012, March 25). Personal interview (4.00 senior, Woodside High School)