The average college student spends about seven hours looking at a screen per day, according to a Harrisburg University study. With college students completing most of their work online, screens constantly consumes students’ daily lives – before we go to bed and as soon as we wake up in the morning. With the excessive use of technology, it is important to know how it can negatively affect students and what students can do to grow mentally, physically and emotionally without it.
Staring at a screen for most of the day has many negative effects on college students. First off, with access to a whole other world of media we can escape to at our fingertips, it causes students to become unproductive and distracted from their schoolwork. It is easy to become a victim to a constant spiral of too much screen time by being on social media. Emma Fry, ‘26, believes social media affects her productivity level when doing schoolwork.
“If I go on my phone I might just keep scrolling and become unmotivated,” said Fry.
This is important to note because students are exposed to many different side effects when using social media. It has a large factor in a students’ mental health as well. Depending on how much attention a post gets, it could make them feel good, or start to lose their confidence.
With these negative effects being known, what can students do to avoid the impacts of too much screen time? To grow, we must learn to separate our digital lives and physical lives. In today’s world it is impossible to avoid social media, but it’s what the user does to prohibit overindulging in it that matters. Most of a student’s free time is spent on a device. One of the easiest ways to limit the amount of time spent on social media is to set time limits. This way students don’t get so caught up in their digital lives, to where their physical lives suffer. The key is to find the balance.
How does a student at NCC grow without being attached to their mobile device? At NCC, there are over 75 clubs and organizations students can join. Hayden Krzyzanowski, ‘25, reflects on how joining the on-campus radio station has changed his experience in college forever.
“WONC gave me a platform to stand on when I couldn’t find one myself. It’s given me opportunities and experiences that I wouldn’t find anywhere else,” said Krzyanowski.
WONC has provided positive experiences to many students which shows that any club or organization on campus can be beneficial for students. Try joining a club that sounds interesting to you and try something new. Instead of spending hours endlessly scrolling on social media, students can start a new club or join an existing one, hang out with friends, start a journal or exercise, the possibilities are endless! The most important part of growth is continuing your academic journey. Focus on school; that’s why you are here.
