In today’s society, text messaging and social media are more popular than ever. In high school students specifically, the effects of these technology devices could be weighing heavy on our minds.

Texting is the most convenient way of communicating, but is it the best for the growing and learning brains of teenagers? Texting among teens has increased from an average of 50 texts a day in 2009 to an average of 60-100 texts a day in 2011. In today’s world, about 75% of teens communicate using text messages. This rise in texting has mostly occurred in teens aging from 14 to 17. Even still, older teenage girls remain the most enthusiastic about their texting. About 63% of teenagers claim to be exchanging text messages every day to communicate with people in their lives, more than phone calling (39% do it every day), face-to-face communication (35% do it every day), and social media messaging (29% do it every day).

While text messaging is obviously consuming most of the average teenager’s time, how is it affecting their school work? In a Rutgers study published in the Journal of Child Neurology, nighttime messaging is linked to the sleep, health, and academic performance of teenagers. Students who turned their devices off or messaged for less than 30 minutes after they have turned the lights out for the night performed significantly better in school than those who messaged for more than 30 minutes after lights out. Students who texted longer in the dark also slept fewer hours and were, therefore, more tired during their day than those who quit messaging when they settled down for bed. Even though females reported more frequent texting and more daytime sleepiness overall, they also had better academic performance than males in this study. This study concluded with a suggestion that educators recognize the sleep needs of teenagers and students, and to make these dreadful sleep habits an educative tool in their curriculum.

Here at Beaver Local, I believe that technology is a very useful tool for everyday life during the school day; however, we should take the time to teach students about the effects their texting actions can have on their bodies and their need for a well-rested brain.