It is no surprise to any of us that cell phones have become a part of our everyday life. We use them to communicate with others, play games and countless of other things. It is also no surprise to us that we use them during class, and this has raised flags to whether cell phones get in the way of our education. Many are guilty of using  phones for personal use during class, whether it be to send a message to a buddy or check social media.

Cell phones have become a huge part of our lives. In 2016, 62.9 percent of the world’s population owned a phone, and by 2019, 70 percent of the population is estimated to have a phone, according to Statista. A study done by The Pew Research Center found that 72 percent of students ages 12 to 17 text and exchange about 1500 texts per month. A survey made by CNN in 2016, concluded that nearly 80 percent of teens check their phones hourly and that 27 percent of them have an urge to respond to a text immediately after receiving it.

Mr. You and Mr. Valenzuela both think that cell phones are useful for academic purposes. You can take a picture of the notes on the board or have apps that manage your homework, but when it comes to students using cell phones for their personal use in class, they are against it. At the beginning of this semester, Mr. Ramos started a rule where every student was required to put their cell phones on a table at the side of the classroom away from the students. As a student in class, I noticed that in the first day almost everyone had put their phones on the table, and now, one month into the semester, I have seen an average of five cell phones on the table. Mr. Valenzuela lets his students use their phones, “almost daily, maybe not for each class each day, but each day someone uses their phone to find information,” he says, but more than half of his students still use their phones for their entertainment during his class. However, cell phones have become a huge part of our lives to the point where teachers don’t enforce the rules as strongly anymore, but they still bring a problem.