Over the past year, schools across Michigan have seen lower test scores in reading and writing, placing 44th in the nation. Along with this, technology has increased in the classrooms. Many students are now using iPads, laptops, and Chromebooks instead of textbooks. While technology can be useful, the decreasing test scores prove that we need to make a change. Firstly, using technology shows that too much screen time is negatively affecting students’ development.
According to the National Library of Medicine, “Excessive screen usage has detrimental effects on social and emotional growth, including a rise in the likelihood of mental health conditions, including depression and anxiety.” This proves that long periods of screen usage are causing children to develop mental health issues early, which is ultimately affecting their academic performance and testing scores. Even as little as 2 hours of screen time a day leads to developmental issues.
Secondly, technology is becoming very distracting in the classroom. Many students admit that sometimes they play games on their Chromebooks or look up answers to solve problems. These distractions are causing students to not think critically and become distracted. For example, the National Library of Medicine also states, “The early years of childhood are crucial for acquiring language skills, and children develop various aspects of language, including vocabulary and phonology.” If students are just going to look up the meaning of vocabulary and not thoroughly walk through what some words actually mean, it’s going to cause reading scores to decrease. Or also, if students are just going to play video games on their computer, you aren’t going to see an increase in testing scores without reverting to textbooks.
Lastly, blue light from technology is causing eyesight damage, impacting their studies and future. The American Academy of Ophthalmology states, “You may have heard reports about studies on blue light. These studies use cells in a dish and animals to study the effects of blue light. These studies showed that blue light can cause cell damage in these settings.” Along with this, long periods of screen time are causing headaches, blurry vision, and tired eyes. This problem results in negatively impacts futures and scoring. If a person is staring at a projector and a laptop every class period for 5 days a week, we are going to see the effects. What if someone wants their future career to be a surgeon or a dentist who works with important tools all day, and they eventually get blurred vision due to their eyesight? As a result, blue light should not be used all that often, and going back to paper is for the better.
In conclusion, technology is worsening children’s development, eyesight, and engagement/vocabulary. As Michigan is ranked 44th out of 50, there is no harm in changing up the curriculum. Schools should consider turning to traditional resources such as textbooks to help students stay focused and strengthen their reading skills. Right now, it is the perfect time for schools to make a difference. Instead of changing learning websites, we as a state need to make textbooks a bigger part of the classroom. If screens continue to replace our books, we should not be surprised when scores continue to fall along with them.
