Plus: Laptops in the Classroom

Hand in hand with the recent Facebook epidemic is the issue of laptops in classrooms. According to the Bridgewater State College study, over 30% of college students either always or sometimes bring their laptops to class. Of those students who always bring their laptops, 24.2% of them reported that they “seldom” or “never” use their computers to take notes.

“In class, it’s very easy to find yourself distracted,” said Northwestern sophomore Amy Foran. “It’s easy to do other things instead of doing work or taking notes. I think that’s the reason most students bring their computers to class.”

It has become common practice across America for some professors to ban laptops from their classes, and the Bridgewater study suggests that such an approach may be beneficial. The study revealed that 47.8% of students found the presence of others’ laptops to be at least somewhat distracting.

Northwestern teaching assistant Daniela Karidi, though, feels that the benefits of using laptops in the classroom outweigh the cons.

“In spite of the potential distractions, laptops in classrooms are necessary,” said Karidi. “In an imaginary perfect world, you would disconnect to the Internet.”