Everybody has had that slight moment of panic when they realize they cannot find their cell phone, only to be followed by a sigh of relief when they find it sitting next to them.

In today’s society, cell phones are the norm. It is not unusual to see people talking on the phone, texting, snapchatting or looking at Twitter or Instagram everywhere they go. Whether it be at home, at a restaurant, at the mall or at school, it seems that no one can put their cell phones down for more than a couple minutes. Is this just a trend because of technological advancements, or is our generation actually addicted to cell phones?

When social studies department head Kim Maass started teaching more than 30 years ago, there were no cell phones. Today, since so many students carry cell phones at school, she has had to find ways to make sure they do not come out during class.

“Honestly, I try to finish up my class period a little early so people can be on their cell phone,” said Maass. “My experience has been that everyone cooperates a little more if they know they get some cell phone time at the end of classes.”

For Maass, there may be some benefits of cell phone use in the classroom, but there are also unfavorable aspects that take away from learning.

“The positive is we never pose a question and then have to wait for the answer because somebody can look it up,” said Maass. “The negative is that I have students sometimes who don’t take notes and just take pictures of the notes, and that doesn’t work because when you take notes, you are listening and deciding what to keep. You are making decisions and interacting with the information. Just taking a picture of it, why bother?”

Maass believes the reason this generation is so addicted to cell phones is because of the instant gratification the user gets from either receiving a text or getting a like on Instagram or Twitter. And in a world where likes and followers are everything, getting that small sense of justification drives people to live and die by their cell phones.

It is broader than students just being addicted to cell phones. There are students in every class that use Chromebooks to pull up tabs that they are not supposed to. Students who pull up videos on YouTube and play games at inappropriate times devalue the educational use of them. Overall, our generation is addicted to technology and having knowledge at our fingertips, and it seems there is no going back.