[dropcap]W[/dropcap]e’ve all heard about electronics in schools, whether you are a parent who has been called repeatedly about your kid being glued to it in class or one of said students, it has been present. The Chromebook has been regarded as a way to revolutionize learning, but it also has a slew of consequences. Kids are also allowed to have their phones, which provide a method of communication as well as a mind-numbing effect on those who keep them on them. So we are left with the everlasting question of whether or not it is a viable method of learning.

It can be seen that there are obvious disadvantages in the system, but some other effects, whether it has to do with health, the environment, or costs, go unnoticed by the general populous. In a study done by the American Optometric Association, it is shown that using computers in school increases the odds of a problem called Computer Vision Syndrome, which causes problems such as headaches, eyestrain, dry eyes, and blurred vision. Another medical problem has been given the lovely name “Text Neck.” It is a condition that is caused by exerting more pressure on the upper vertebrae of the spine, which causes wear and tear on the spine and could result in mass amounts of pain or required surgery.

Also to be noted, it takes 79 gallons of water, 33 pounds of miscellaneous minerals, and 100 kilowatt hours of energy, while printing a textbook requires about 2 kilowatt hours of energy and two thirds of a pound of materials.[perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]In an article featured in The Atlantic, it was estimated that there were over 900,000,000 websites on the Internet, whilst 12,000 more crop up in one day[/perfectpullquote] While we’re on the subject, let’s talk about costs. While textbooks may seem expensive, they require very little for upkeep, not to mention things like networking and electricity to power them. While the cost of a Wi-Fi network can be spread out over many venues at very little for an increase to cost, but electricity is a kick in the teeth, in a term. Depending on the sources, it could either be easy and happy, like solar, wind, or hydro powered, we get productivity and joy, but say it comes from fossil fuels, like coal, oil, or natural gas, it harms the environment.

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Now we focus more closely on the students. Many students are given a laptop by their school, which provides versatility for the student to work on their projects, papers, or have a textbook for beyond the school, minimizing things like missing work, but in all honesty, and in my personal case, it doesn’t work. There are too many distractions. They have unlimited access to game sites and other things along those lines, not to mention people being able to cheat on things they take home, whether it’s a take home test or any piece of homework. There are many instances if you walk behind the rows upon rows of desks of students working on their computers where you can see cheating or even blatant disregard for the assignment at hand.

We also have to look at the fact that schools can block certain websites to make sure that students don’t go wandering off too far into the web, but with the Internet expanding and becoming more powerful day by day, hour by hour, minute to minute even, schools can’t control that. They can block obvious websites, such as Newgrounds, Kongregate, or something more dark, if you catch my drift. There are many websites that are also blocked past these, but some websites slip through when a person goes through the normal searches. In an article featured in The Atlantic, it was estimated that there were over 900,000,000 websites on the Internet, whilst 12,000 more crop up in one day

. On average, and by that I mean not in a doing research on computers and typing a blog post, a person will visit 96 different websites a month. All in all, it would be a challenge for 100 people, let alone a single school districts I.T. people.

Continuing with the idea of the horrifying things on the Internet, we see that children, whatever grade, can experience it. While it may seem small, about 9% of the student population in grades 6-12 were cyber bullied, but 55.2% of all LGBT students were cyberbullied, according to surveys led by stopbullying.gov. [perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]”Text Neck” is a condition that is caused by exerting more pressure on the upper vertebrae of the spine, which causes wear and tear on the spine and could result in mass amounts of pain or required surgery.[/perfectpullquote]While I cannot say what the best solution to cyberbullying is, I can sufficiently say that it isn’t a very wonderful idea to give bullies more access to their victims, or vice versa. We also have to think about the social consequences of having so much more screen time. Odds are is that when you use a computer to do your work, you’ll work more at home if you’re an adult, or do homework if you’re a student. This makes a large disconnect between people in the household, the only conversation is the occasional question or bit of small talk. While this is a more minor consequence, it is still a problem.

In an article featured in The Times, a study showed that when a school banned phones, the average test score jumped up to 6% higher. While the jump may not seem significant, that number can mean a success or failure on a test or even on meeting graduation requirements.

With the schools providing computers that can potentially harm the body, environment, or behavioral science, it would appear that the costs outweigh the benefits. While it is completely truthful that they help the advancement of knowledge, they destroy the environment and use up our necessary resources and our energy. They also take up quite a bit of space in our social lives, giving us access to people far away, but distracting us from what’s directly in front of us: our lives.

Featured Image by JESHOOTS / Pixabay