The Thumb Swipe: What Are Phones in Class Doing to Learning?

Credit: iStock.com/SDI Productions
Credit: iStock.com/SDI Productions
How long is it before you touch your phone after you awake? Some of you will say right away because that is where your alarm is. Others may sheepishly admit that it is the first thing you open your eyes to. Many of our students reach for their phones the moment they open their eyes. I will not belabor that social media is addictive and can have negative consequences for mental health (see Twenge, 2023). I will, however, address what I refer to as the “thumb swipe epidemic.”

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2 Responses

    1. Thanks for the heads-up about the links. I’ve corrected the two offending ones (Delgado et al., 2018; Sage et al., 2023). WordPress sometimes mixes them up for no reason after I’ve finalized the copy. As for the reference list, unfortunately, I don’t have one for this essay, but for stability we use DOI links wherever possible.

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