The latest model of the world renowned iPhone was released March 21st, 2016, and it's known to the general public as the Iphone SE. As usual, the newest model was on high demand. Its features are just like that of the 6s and 6s+, just in a smaller model like that of the once so popular, 5s. All of these improvements have created an increased desire for the general public to get their hands on this new phone. Jonathan Franzan, writer for the New York Times describes the pure excitement that he feels when receiving a brand new gadget. He gushes by writing about his newfound addiction to his phone because his phone is now sleeker and more appealing to the touch and will answer his every demand in the matter of seconds. He describes these new features as a type of "sexiness". But, the shocking speed at which the iPhone can perform is where the issue actually arises, Franzan finds that he cannot put his phone down. 

Someone like Franzan, who always has his phone in his hand, will then find himself exploring the app store. Conveniently enough, everyday social media has been transformed into smartphone apps, giving cell phone users access to all forms of social media right from a hand held device. Notifications from apps such as Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and Facebook are constantly lighting up people's phone screens. Consequently, many have become addicted to their social media because the notifications are right next to them constantly. The "addicted" being defined as people who have lost control of their internet usage and find themselves on social media apps even when they did not intend to be. This addiction is due to the fact that the stimulation our apps can provide for our brain causes a dopamine squirt which our brain then becomes addicted to and without it we experience boredom and therefore constantly search for that same feeling  (Richtel). 

Furthermore, students and professors across the country have noticed the affect this addiction to social media has on classroom performance. Students are no longer performing at their academic best and that is because social media has become such a major part in their lives. Professors have begun to allow technology to be brought into their classroom without really cracking down on what goes on when a student's face is just inches away from a computer screen throughout the entirety of a class. What most realize, yet struggle to do anything about is that most often, students are on various social media apps instead of taking notes and following along with lectures or the tasks at hand. Being a university student I wonder, how does this addiction to social media affect students across my campus at the University of South Carolina? Our computers and phones on our desks may actually cause our lower attention spans, bad test scores, and therefore lower GPAs.  

After conducting research and experiencing the suspected issue first hand in my own classroom environments, social media usage has become more and more prevalent in my eyes. I now believe that the addiction to social media apps is caused by both physical and emotional cravings we as students have for the apps. Despite the common belief that these apps have improved aspects of our daily lives, social media has actually hindered the classroom performance of University of South Carolina students. 

Years ago, on June 29, 2007, when the very first iPhone was released, most were not really sure how to act. The technology was brand new and many did not know how to use it. Therefore, at this point in time, phones remained in their respectful pockets of students' backpacks throughout the duration of a single class. As years have passed, smartphones have become more and more efficient, not pertaining to usage, but the look of the phone alone was improved. First smartphones were big and bulky and not very pleasing to hold. They slowly became smaller, both in width and height. Their focus was to make the phone sleek and almost soft to the touch. The overall increase in attractiveness of these smartphones is what made the smartphone become the newest trend in technology.

Even more so, the development of the technology itself added to the newfound love of these phones created a full blown addiction. Many of the features were enhanced to make people feel the burning desire to get their hands on the next one. For example, if one were to compare a photo taken on one of the very smart phones to a photo taken on the new and improved iphone 6, released September 9, 2014, there is no doubt which one will have come out better. It is human nature to want to be the very best and have the very best, even when it comes down to a mere picture.

Following the upgraded features of the phone were the creation of apps. Thousands, even millions were being added into the app store for the general public to purchase. People now have access to so many things instantly; where as before, a phone was simply used to make a call or shoot a quick text. Now, apps such as Facebook, added to the app store in 2012, are accessible right for the handheld phone, which is the reason the addiction to social media apps became more prevalent. As social media apps became more readily available, people found themselves on their phones more often, even when they did not want to be. 

The issue has become so bad that students are finding that they cannot even put their phones down to take notes in class. The most popular apps known today are Instagram, launched as a mobile app in 2010 and as of December 2014 has 300 million active users.  Snapchat released in 2011, and now in 2016 averages sending 7 billion videos a day, and still, Facebook who now has 945 million mobile users. Students admit to checking these apps during class. I have witnessed every student in every single one of my classes having their phones out on their desks and laptops open to Facebook or some type of social media. The reason this has become such a big issue is because students have begun to perform badly within the classroom. They are disengaged and admit to walking out of lectures not remembering one word that was said. Our social media apps were once a way of pure communication have now turned into a documentation of our entire lives. Missing a post of a friend is no longer an option. Social media runs the everyday lives of University of South Carolina students, which is why we, as students, are now unable to separate social media from the classroom environment. 

After thoroughly researching the social media app addiction, I have realized just how prevalent the issue is on the University of South Carolina campus. The reason being, that students physically cannot go without using their social media apps. As students are using these apps, the brain stimulation that is caused by the usage produces a dopamine squirt, creating a sort of excitement within the brain, which is the heart of the addiction (Richtel). The excitement produced in the brain causes those who have felt this sort of sensation to become bored with reality. So, when a notification lights up a student's phone screen it is almost impossible for them to resist picking up their phone to answer to the notification. We students are what Alex Soojung- Kim Pang would call a "chattering mind". Being chattering monkeys means that we have an "untutored, undisciplined reactive mind ...  that loves stimulation but doesn't hold a thought," (Pang) which is why we are so keen to picking up our phones in the middle of a class. 

Not only can one become physically addicted to their social media apps, but it is also possible that the addiction to social media apps a student may be experiencing is driven by an emotional attachment to these apps. There are two aspects of social media using that cause this attachment. The first is the fear of missing out on a person's post and two, the desire to be liked by every one of your followers on the apps. 

FOMO is a common term used among young adults of today. Its meaning translates to, "Fear Of Missing Out". Usually this pertains to missing a social event where all of your friends are in attendance except for you. But, as the addiction to social media apps becomes more intense, what students are finding is that they feel the same FOMO concerning their social media apps. The reason being that our youth of today can no longer deal with the feeling of loneliness. When one becomes addicted to something often their judgment can become quite fuzzy. At this point, when one becomes so addicted to social media apps they feel as though missing a single post from one of their friends is like missing a huge chunk of their lives, when in reality that is far from the case. But, it is this strong desire to be constantly informed of your follower whereabouts and what they are doing, in order to avoid the feeling of loneliness, that leads to a students struggle to ignore an incoming notification. 

Secondly, the pressure to be liked by all is a common feeling that youth deal with today. Often times, the posts that students take the time creating are being put out onto the web so others can swoon over their lifestyle. I personally have done this, posting several pictures of my trip to Aruba this past Spring Break in order to get people to think I was "living the life". Unfortunately, the pressure students feel adds to the addiction to their social media apps. The second something remotely important or possibly impressive happens, a student is on some sort of social media reporting it, which is another reason why technology is being pulled out of their backpacks during class, interrupting their learning. 

Another emotional aspect of social media includes the fact that some students will go as far as to create relationships on these social media sites. For example, Caitlin Dewey was a senior at Syracuse University at the time that she won the Modern Love Essay Contest sponsored by the New York Times. She recounts her story of how she felt as though she had fallen in love through an app called Skype, in which you are able to video chat. Dewey also admits that "90% of human communication is nonverbal," (Dewey 519). Soon enough, Dewey found herself "video chatted for hours," (Dewey 519). Dewey had herself fallen into the trap of this newfound nonverbal communication. She could not get off of her computer because she had been so attached to this Skype app because it allowed her to communicate to Will, the man who she had fallen for. College is an emotional time for most, and often one's emotion can easily drive an addiction very far. 

The physical and emotional relationships students have developed with their social media apps assimilate to create one major addiction. Bringing the issue even further, the addiction that Carolina students have to their social media apps is causing their decline in academic performance. The reason the addiction continues to be a pressing issue is because students are convinced that they are able to multitask. Matt Richtel, proves multitasking is in fact a myth. He writes, "heavy multitaskers actually have more trouble focusing and shutting out irrelevant information," (Richtel) proving that when a student picks up their phone in the middle of class, all focused on the material is lost. In continuation, a study conducted by Aliyas Paul, Hope Baker and Justin Cochran found direct relationships between "online social networking" and attention deficit in a classroom setting. Therefore, "as the level of attention deficit increases, the amount of time spent on online social networks increases," (Paul 4).  More so, "attention deficit has a significant positive impact on time spent on online social networks, which negatively impacts academic performance, thus implying an indirect relationship between attention deficit and academic performance," (Paul 4) So, Carolina students' attention deficit is caused by the notifications popping up on their phones during class, which then increases the amount of time they use these apps. The time in which they are using apps is the prime time of when their academic performance is hindered, because, as mentioned before, multitasking is a myth. Overall, the issue begins with the addiction of the social media apps and ends with it hindering academic performance.

A study conducted by Wayne A. Babchuk and Abraham E. Flanagan in 2015, called for subjects to answer 12 questions on their usage of social media apps within the classroom environment. Several admitted to being guilty of this over usage. Some said that they find themselves using their apps for more than 50% of their class time. More so, others have admitted to walking out of a lecture not remembering anything that had been taught. It has gotten to the point where, after taking the survey and realizing they had an issue, students are noticing a decline in their test scores as a result.  Another study conducted by Wen Li, Jennifer E. O'Brien, Susan M. Snyder, and Matthew O. Howard provide personal stories of the subjects that took part in their study. One named Lydia claims that if she were not constantly using the internet, her grades would show a big improvement. In continuation, another named Jessie agrees with Lydia and feels as though the decline in her academic performance is due to the fact that her ability to "concentrate on one thing is seriously impaired" and that she "can't even focus for 2 minutes,".

Considering the issue of social media app usage has grown to be so grave, it is necessary that a change be made to the way professors teach at the University of South Carolina. 

There is controversy of what changes should be made. Some conservatives believe that retreating back to the old ways would benefit students. They feel it is necessary to create and inforce "policies prohibiting the use of digital devices and social media during class time for non-class purposes" (Flanigan 5.1). This meaning, no technology would be allowed in classroom settings at all. Instead of pulling up a PowerPoint on a desktop and projector screen, professors would slave over a white board handwriting every note. More worksheets would be made for homework and practice problems, instead of turning things in through sites such as Black Board or Web Assign. Professor's main reasoning for wanting the removal of technology and therefore the removal of social media apps from their classrooms is due to the fact that they believe students needs more skills than "spit, spit, there's the answer," (Richtel).  

Understandably, they want no room for distraction and flat out hard work from their students. Without technology in classroom settings it will not be necessary to take the time to train ourselves to be like the "cyborg monkey," (Pang 360) as many feel necessary. Being a "cyborg monkey" means a student would no longer experience "technologies it uses as separate from itself, as requiring conscious effort and attention," (Pang 360). Although, the idea of no technology allowed in a classroom seems to be ideal to most professors, what they fail to understand is that without the use of technology in classroom environments, a student's brain would actually shut down, rather than turn its attention to what a professor is trying to present. Some professors have attempted to make this drastic regression. Hope Miolina Porter, professor in California claims that she has tried to deal with her students lack of focus by doing "a song and dance to capture their attention," (Richtel), yet there are still no signs of change. 

The reason there has yet to be signs of change is due to the fact that students' brains struggle to function without technology. As previously mentioned, those who fall under the category of IA, become addicted to the "heavy stimulation and rapid shifts in attention," (Richtel NYTimes). The way in which a student's brain now works is based on this constant shifting. Eliminating technology from the classroom environment completely will do no good. It is necessary to increase the amount of technology in classrooms because that is now the norm. Technology within classrooms will keep students engaged, and working. "Instructors mau be able to fend off social media use by creating dynamic, engaging classrooms where students are expected to participate in discussions, activities, or group work," (Flanigan 5.1) that incorporates several different forms of technology. It's not about completely removing technology from the learning process, it is about restricting what this technology is being used for. 

Pertaining to the emotional aspect of social media addiction, Sherry Turkle, professor, claims that we as a society must "start thinking of solitude as a good thing," (Turkle). We must teach from a young age that it is okay to be alone sometimes. So that by the time we children reach the young- adult, university student age that we will be able to "recognize our vulnerability" to technology and we can try and prevent the addiction to social media apps. We must recognize that being connected through social media apps does not necessarily mean we are genuinely connected to the people around us. Turkle claims it is necessary to designate different parts of the home to a safe conversational place where true connection to others can be made, in order to make America's youth more comfortable with face to face conversation. Essentially the main goal is to include social media in our lives just enough to the point where it will actually enhance our lives, not hinder it like it has done to university students' academic experience.  

In conclusion, as time has progressed from the early tests about half a century ago, when these procedures had shown that "the brain could barely process two streams, and could not simultaneously make decisions about them," (Richtel 483), students at the University of South Carolina have chosen to challenge this idea. Being a student myself, I watch as others around me attempt to focus on both their Twitter or Facebook, and the lecture that is being presented in front of them. The reason they have chosen to do so, is not necessarily by choice. At first, when apps were first created and released, students chose to go on them during their free time. But now, in present day 2016, students have become addicted. Their brains constantly crave the adrenaline that is produced while using these apps, and students give into this craving. They struggle to put their phones down. As previously mentioned, a student's brain could not process two streams of information half a century ago, and still cannot now. Which is why academic performance has been hindered due to these social media apps. Student's have recognized and admitted that they walk out of lectures obtaining little to no information. The answer to this problem? Incorporate technology into a lesson plan so that it benefits students. Cutting back will only hurt a student even more. Essentially we must "come together ...  to help society "wake up" and ...  see the devastating effects", social media can have "on our ability to learn," (Rowan).

