College Students Admit Digital Device Habits Interfere with School - East Idaho News

College Students Admit Digital Device Habits Interfere with School

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GETTY 102513 ClassTexting?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1382693904561iStock/Thinkstock(LINCOLN, Neb.) — A new survey of college students finds that while more than 80 percent admit their smartphones and other devices can interfere with their learning, that doesn’t deter them from playing with their digital devices an average of 11 times a day while in class.

More than a fourth say their grades suffer as a result of their use of smartphones, tablets and laptops while in class.

Barney McCoy, an associate professor of broadcasting at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, decided to conduct a study of students and their devices after observing the practice in his classes.

“They’ve got their laptops open, but they’re not always taking notes,” McCoy said.  “Some might have two screens open — Facebook and their notes.”

Last fall, McCoy surveyed 777 students at six universities in five states about their classroom use of digital devices for non-instructional purposes.

Fifteen percent of the students polled said they turned to their digital devices more than 30 times per day while in class.  Less than 8 percent said they never go near their devices while in class.

Of those that do, nearly 86 percent said they were texting, while 68 percent reported they were checking email and 66 percent said they were using social networks.  Thirty-eight percent said they were surfing the Web and 8 percent said they were playing a game. McCoy also found that 79 percent of the students said they used their digital device to check the time.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

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