Over 90 Percent of Students Text During Class

A study at Wilkes University revealed that 91 percent of students text in class.
“Students these days are so used to multitasking,” Deborah Tindell said, a psychology professor at Wilkes. “They believe they are able to process information just as effectively when they are texting as when they are not.”
The study also found that nearly all students think they should be able to bring their cell phones to class, and over half believe they should be allowed to text in class as long as it is not a distraction.
“Every single person I know texts in class at least occasionally,” said Dan Kautz, a communications studies major at Wilkes.

Psychology professors Tindell and Robert Bohlander conducted an anonymous survey among 269 students and found that students prefer the distraction of texting over daydreaming, doodling and passing notes in class.
“If it’s a really boring class, texting is a nice alternative to having to sit there and focus,” said Tom Markley, a computer science major at Wilkes.
However, using texting as a means of entertainment isn’t the major concern on campus. The study found that 10 percent of students admit that they’ve sent or received texts during tests, and three percent said they had used their phones to cheat.
The study also found that almost 25 percent of students admit they are distracted by other students’ texting, and 75 percent of students said they are bothered by a ringing phone in class.
The study’s findings have led Tindell to implement a zero-tolerance policy on texting in her class. Students will get a zero on their test if they are caught texting.
Via The Associated Press