Most people remember when school was all paper and pencil and students were not even allowed electronics in the classroom. Often times, classmates would have to scavenge for a pencil just to survive the day. However, since the Covid-19 virus hit in March of 2020, schools around the world turned to keeping schools virtual and using electronic devices for homework, tests, emails, and in-school assignments daily.

Digital schooling affects many students’ lives and there are many different perspectives on how all this screen time may be affecting students’ mental health.

According to an article “Managing Stress Caused by Technology” published in D’amore Mental Health , while technology is a valuable resource, especially in business, the constant checking has made working Americans the most stressed out. Outside the workplace, these people feel more disconnected from family and friends.

Norwin High School students were polled about their thoughts and ideas about the stresses and excitements about the transformation this 2021-2022 school year. Students in grades 9-12 are were polled to show how these new additions of iPads and Google Classroom are affecting their mental health. According to the poll, 57% of students said sometimes the amount of screentime used daily effects their mental health.

Most teenagers have a serious addiction to their screens taking away from most events in their lives and do not realize how much of their time is being spent away on the screen for hours a day.

“I think staring at screens all day is bad for your eyes and causes eye strain,” said one Norwin junior in the poll. “It can cause headaches and even make you tired. Mentally it can be draining and depending on what your doing on your phone, (like scrolling through social media), there can even be a decrease in your mental health.”

These are honest symptoms that many of teenagers and maybe even some adults have felt after looking at a screen to long. Think about it.

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“A lot of use for the technology is very helpful for remote learning for students who are missing school due to illness or other things,”said Norwin English teacher Mr.Amic. “I am not a huge fan of technology as my students know, and I am not particularly adept at using it but I’ve learned a ton about technology in the last couple of years. As an english teacher I think it’s important that are still and important part of the classroom.”