Cell Phones: The Top Distraction In Your College Lectures

By Danielle Wirsansky on September 22, 2017

College is a busy, busy time and you can’t brook any distractions. As a student, you have got a lot going on — classes, extracurricular activities, homework, work, and more. You need to be as focused as possible, especially when you are in class. You are paying a lot of money to go to college so you need to get the most out of every class that you take. However, there can be many distractions when you are in class and your phone is one of them.

Oftentimes, your cell phone can be the most distracting part of your day. It is easy to fall into a rabbit hole of apps and lose focus and time when you are in class. People keep texting you. Your grandma is calling. There is a breaking news story flashing on your screen. The world has a lot going on and your phone gives you the means to connect with others and disconnect from your immediate surroundings — which happens to be when your professor is giving you notes for the upcoming exam.

You think that texting discretely won’t affect your attention span in class, but you can miss important information being told to the class without even realizing it. You can get lost reading several articles about the breaking news, sucked into the tragedy of the moment, without realizing that the professor has just answered the question you have been stuck on all week.

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Researchers discovered that college students are negatively impacted when they use cell phones. Students who did not use their phones “wrote down 62 percent more information in their notes, took more detailed notes, were able to recall more detailed information from the lecture, and scored a full letter grade and a half higher on a multiple choice test than those students who were actively using their mobile phones.”

However, there are many different ways to stop your cell phone from being a distraction. For some, willpower is enough. Turning off your notifications, deleting apps, or turning off your phone altogether can help some people end distractions. But for others, they need more help. Listed below are some apps that you can use to help stop your phone from being a distraction in class.

Pocket Points

“Pocket Points gives students rewards for not using their phone during class. Simply open up the application, lock your phone, and start to get rewards. Pocket Points is a great way to prepare you for the real world and just another way to save money and get awesome discounts!”

Flipd: Stay Focused

“With Flipd, you never have to be distracted by your phone again! Flipd is the first app that hides social media apps and games for you so that you can stay focused and uninterrupted. You can even challenge yourself to stay off of your phone and track your productivity and progress as you go.”

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Moment — Screen Time Tracker

“Track how much you and your family use your phone and tablet each day, automatically.

–See what apps you use the most too! Moment is the first and only app on the App Store to do this.

–Set daily limits on yourself and find a balance for the screens in your life.”

ShutApp — Digital Detox

“ShutApp is a free and easy to use timer app that helps you and your friends take a break from your phones and to enjoy the real moments. With ShutApp you can easily set goals and challenge your friends for how long you don’t want to use your phone. You can test yourself and your friends if you are able to stop checking your phone every minute.

So, how it works: Invite friends for the ShutApp challenge, set the time you DON’T want to use your phone, mute your phone (if it’s not already done) and the countdown will automatically start. If you use your phone before the time has expired the app will recognize it, the time will stop, and your friends will receive a notification. That’s normally the time when you have to admit that you are addicted!”

( OFFTIME ) light

“The award-winning ( OFFTIME ) lets you monitor your smartphone usage in real time and take dedicated timeouts from the digital — alone and together with others. The app’s intuitive analytics make it easy to identify your habits and take action to change them … Find balance instead of giving in to digital distraction — start to unplug, take a digital detox and focus on your work, enjoy quality time with the people you care about, or simply find some peace of mind. As proven by science, with ( OFFTIME ) you can improve your wellbeing and productivity.”

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