Distraction

It should be noted that the adoption of mobile devices within the educational set-up has presented certain challenges of distraction from the education processes. Most of the student participants in this study admitted that the idea of using smartphones for academic purposes is a worthwhile and valuable idea. The students concurred that the smartphone is also a very good technological

device for entertainment. They pointed out that smartphone use can deter students from concentrating on their academic work if appropriate precautions are not taken by the users. Discipline on the part of the user is required for it to be effectively used as a learning tool. Many people tend to use this device mostly for social issues. If students are not careful, they may waste much productive time on social platforms, on non-academic undertakings at the expense of schoolwork. The findings of this study corroborate the research conducted in the UK, which revealed that some youths are spending a great deal of time on the Internet (Frith, 2017), and in most cases non-academically. According to reports from these young people, they feel anxious when they spend much time offline, a phenomenon which is sometimes referred to as FOMO; “fear of missing out”. If these trends enter the Zimbabwean context, students may ultimately neglect their school work.

Some scholars have also revealed that it looks like some students are able to do the multi-tasking that is required when using smartphones in learning. However, for other students, the smartphone is essentially a continual distraction (Barnwell, 2016). For some students and many adults, the presence of phone takes them away from their focus. However, some learners can effortlessly shift their focus from the device as an entertaining tool to a learning tool. For other learners, the phone’s prospects as a learning tool are routinely ignored. The usage of smartphones for academic purposes requires students to stay focused and synthesise information on a discussion or a lesson. Students with a repeated urge to multitask on entertainment or social media, and have poor learning skills usually face challenges integrating the purposeful use of smartphone into the learning activities (Riley, 2018). Thus, the prospective benefit of the tool is often squandered. In support of the participating students’ claims, Chen and Denoyelles (2013) indicated that there are applications which send notifications when there are updates, messages, latest offers, and so on. These disturb the momentum, which has the potential to reduce one’s output, and in the case of students, their learning and study time is interrupted. When a student attends to these notifications, they will find themselves attached to the phone. This was confirmed by students like MK, who specified that his phone is so tempting that he always wants to see the messages posted on it each time they appear.

According to the students’ experiences, smartphone technology can rob them of study time if they are not careful. Highlighted was that, if students are not given the appropriate guidance on the use of these smartphones, they may ultimately truant while concentrating on entertaining applications on their smartphones − playing games or watching videos. Some students are alleged to have deteriorated in their academic performance owing to lack of discipline in using this

technology. One student, MK, admitted that his performance in the class had deteriorated the previous term. His parents were blaming his smartphone use for his failure. MK confessed that the social platforms on his phone are so exciting that if anyone is given such a phone, he or she will not have time to study. Lepp et al. (2015) concur with the findings of this study in revealing that smartphone use may also interfere with behaviour favourable to academic success (Lepp et al., 2015). Denzel also admitted having problems in trying to control his use of the smartphone. He indicated that, at one point, his parents had to take the smartphone away from him to enable him time to complete his school work. Some parents have also indicated that their children have now become too apt to play, owing to the use of this technology. Recent studies have also recognised an undesirable connection between academic performance, and usage of social- networking sites like Facebook, My Space, Twitter on smartphones (Chen & Denoyelles, 2013). According to North et al. (2014), lower educational attainment is one of the negative effects of using smartphones. The findings of this study confirm that a careful approach should be taken to avoid these negative or undesirable outcomes.

Students like MK, in his statements, admitted that, although it is difficult for him to leave his phone alone, he has resolved to change his behaviour to please his parents. This shows that addiction caused by smartphone use is not always permanent; it can be resolved when the user realises that it is retrogressive. However, from my own point of view, I think MK should not be resolving to change his attitude for the sake of pleasing his parents: he should be doing this for his personal benefit. Students in this study also claim that there are some students who allegedly spend the greater part of the night on the smartphone concentrating on WhatsApp, movies, or games, and this leads to their falling asleep during class. Some students reported that they have observed students using smartphones for academic work only when instructed by the teacher to do so; otherwise most of their time they will be on social platforms. Some students are always observed listening to music, even during study time. Some were allegedly removed from academic chat groups for displaying negative attitudes and disturbing the seriousness of discussions ongoing in those groups.