education

There’s a Cell Phone in Your Student’s Head

>>Narrator: In 2017,
researchers looked at the effect of cell phone presence on students. Students were asked to complete math
problems with their cellphones placed on their desks, stashed in
nearby bags or clothing, or left behind in separate rooms. They turned off ring tones,
buzzing, pings, the works. In fact, students didn't
interact with or hear their phones at all, but it didn't matter. The phone continued to
exert a powerful influence, occupying the student's mental
space even as they ignored it. Students performed worse when the
phone was nearby on the desk, and no, it didn't matter if they
turned it facedown. They didn't fare much better when the
phone was hidden in a bag or a pocket. Physical separation from the
phone produced the best outcomes. So, what's the new insight here.
It looks like the mere presence of our phones might be triggering a
neural system called automatic attention That's a brain system that
unconsciously monitors the environment for signs of crucial importance.

It screens out irrelevant
information but snaps us to attention when someone calls our
name, for example, an infant cry, or a police siren wails. In other words, our phones,
with their constant pings and buzzes may be tripping some of
our deepest mission-critical wiring, creating a persistent sense of urgency
even when the phone is completely off or stored away, and draining
away precious cognitive resources that could be used for
tasks like studying. What can be done about all this? The researchers concluded that intuitive
fixes like placing the phone face down or turning it off were futile. And that's a direct quote. Actual physical separation from the
phone was the only effective solution. That's true when your students
are taking tests, of course, but the research says that physical
separation is even more crucial when they're initially
trying to learn something..

As found on YouTube

There’s a Cell Phone in Your Student’s Head

>>Narrator: In 2017,
researchers looked at the effect of cell phone presence on students. Students were asked to complete math
problems with their cellphones placed on their desks, stashed in
nearby bags or clothing, or left behind in separate rooms. They turned off ring tones,
buzzing, pings, the works. In fact, students didn't
interact with or hear their phones at all, but it didn't matter. The phone continued to
exert a powerful influence, occupying the student's mental
space even as they ignored it. Students performed worse when the
phone was nearby on the desk, and no, it didn't matter if they
turned it facedown. They didn't fare much better when the
phone was hidden in a bag or a pocket.

Physical separation from the
phone produced the best outcomes. So, what's the new insight here.
It looks like the mere presence of our phones might be triggering a
neural system called automatic attention That's a brain system that
unconsciously monitors the environment for signs of crucial importance. It screens out irrelevant
information but snaps us to attention when someone calls our
name, for example, an infant cry, or a police siren wails. In other words, our phones,
with their constant pings and buzzes may be tripping some of
our deepest mission-critical wiring, creating a persistent sense of urgency
even when the phone is completely off or stored away, and draining
away precious cognitive resources that could be used for
tasks like studying. What can be done about all this? The researchers concluded that intuitive
fixes like placing the phone face down or turning it off were futile. And that's a direct quote. Actual physical separation from the
phone was the only effective solution. That's true when your students
are taking tests, of course, but the research says that physical
separation is even more crucial when they're initially
trying to learn something..

As found on YouTube

There’s a Cell Phone in Your Student’s Head

>>Narrator: In 2017,
researchers looked at the effect of cell phone presence on students. Students were asked to complete math
problems with their cellphones placed on their desks, stashed in
nearby bags or clothing, or left behind in separate rooms. They turned off ring tones,
buzzing, pings, the works. In fact, students didn't
interact with or hear their phones at all, but it didn't matter. The phone continued to
exert a powerful influence, occupying the student's mental
space even as they ignored it. Students performed worse when the
phone was nearby on the desk, and no, it didn't matter if they
turned it facedown.

They didn't fare much better when the
phone was hidden in a bag or a pocket. Physical separation from the
phone produced the best outcomes. So, what's the new insight here.
It looks like the mere presence of our phones might be triggering a
neural system called automatic attention That's a brain system that
unconsciously monitors the environment for signs of crucial importance. It screens out irrelevant
information but snaps us to attention when someone calls our
name, for example, an infant cry, or a police siren wails. In other words, our phones,
with their constant pings and buzzes may be tripping some of
our deepest mission-critical wiring, creating a persistent sense of urgency
even when the phone is completely off or stored away, and draining
away precious cognitive resources that could be used for
tasks like studying. What can be done about all this? The researchers concluded that intuitive
fixes like placing the phone face down or turning it off were futile.

And that's a direct quote. Actual physical separation from the
phone was the only effective solution. That's true when your students
are taking tests, of course, but the research says that physical
separation is even more crucial when they're initially
trying to learn something..

As found on YouTube

Can using your cell phone give you brain cancer?

Are cell phones risky? Cell phones are everywhere. There are over
six billion cell phone subscriptions worldwide – nearly one for every man,
woman, and child on the planet. And many people claim they can no longer
live without them. But are they safe? Is it possible that something so near
and dear to us could be risky? And if so, what kind of risk would it
be? For starters, Most cell phones these days use lithium-
ion batteries, which, as a previous Risk Bites explored, can present a fire risk if
you abuse them. But so long as you don't treat your
phone like a racketball, you're probably okay. Then there's the non-ionizing radiation. Like other wireless electronic
appliances, cell phones use high-frequency radio
waves to do their thing. These radio waves allow the phone to
communicate with satellites, computers, and other phones, which in turn allow us
to communicate with each other.

What makes cell phones different from
other wireless appliances is that we have a habit of holding them next to
our heads. So it's perhaps not surprising that researchers have asked if there is any
risk associated with extended exposure to cell phone radiation. To put it bluntly, they want to know:
can cell phones give you brain cancer? Researchers in the United States, Sweden,
Denmark, Switzerland, the UK, and other countries have been looking into the
question since cell phones first hit the market in the nineteen eighties. For years, they have tracked cases of phone
usage and brain cancer across time and geography. After decades of research and massive
studies using hundreds of thousands of people from multiple countries, the
answer is a resounding: probably not. In two thousand and eleven, the World Health Organization pulled
together a group of experts from around the world to review the available data on
cell phone radio waves and cancer. Their conclusion? The vast majority of evidence shows no
increase risk associated with cell phone use.

However, a slender few reports did find a
slight association between cell phone use and cancer. So, the WHO, being a cautious body,
declared cell phone radio wave emissions to be possible human carcinogen. What does this mean? Simply that the isn't enough evidence to
be sure either way – we can't say that cell phones are unsafe. But we can't say that cell phones are one
hundred-percent entirely safe yet either. That may sound scary, but before you cancel
your phone subscription, consider that this category of possible carcinogens
also includes coffee and pickled vegetables. Surprisingly, the best studied risk associated with
cell phones comes not from the phone itself, but from the distraction it
causes to drivers We'll dive into that another time.

But until then, don't forget to subscribe and stay safe. And whatever you do, don't watch Risk
Bites while driving!.

As found on YouTube