Sophomore Ashley Yarnell is slowly being drawn towards her phone as the days drag on, especially since she spends most of her time looking at a screen for school. Just a singular tap of her finger sucks her into the universe that is the internet and distracts her from what she’s meant to be learning.

Ashley tries to stay off her phone during the school day, but the one exception is the days she doesn’t have to participate in the daily zoom calls.

“Normally during zoom days I just sit there and listen,” Ashley said. “However, when it’s an asynchronous day, I try to finish my work before 12, and then I’ll do whatever I want for the rest of the day.”

Ashley finds herself drawn to the internet on a daily basis more than doing other activities such as reading or going outside.

“I really would like to read more but it’s easier [to go on my phone] since it’s right next to me,” Ashley said. 

Ashley’s favorite app that she spends a lot of time on is Snapchat; she has other social media platforms as well but tends to enjoy Snapchat more than the others.

“I enjoy [Snapchat] because you can talk to friends,” Ashley said. “It’s not constant videos playing one after the other. We can talk during class in case someone is behind, [and] we help each other catch up.”

Ashley has acknowledged that she is addicted to her phone.

“I tend to go on my phone for about eight hours per day,” Ashley said.

Along with Ashley, junior Jack Ward finds himself spending his days on his phone as well, but unlike Ashley’s favoritism toward Snapchat, he tends to spend most of his time watching Youtube.

Jack doesn’t spend much time on Youtube on a normal day, but when he has online school he finds himself staring at his phone very frequently.

“I’ve always watched Youtube after school,” Jack said. “During school, I didn’t really get the chance to, but with online I’ve been able to watch [Youtube] a lot more.”

Unlike many other high school students, Jack tends to restrain himself from getting distracted during class with his phone. 

“I try not to watch Youtube during class,” Jack said. “But throughout the day, I check to see if anything new has been uploaded.”

One of the main reasons he tries to restrain himself from watching Youtube during class is because it’s hard for him to pay attention initially, and adding stimulation like Youtube doesn’t help his focus.

Some of the main topics that appeal to Jack are car videos, science experiments, and other manly stuff.

Senior Jacob Pieters also enjoys spending his time watching Youtube. However, he has more of an interest in video game videos that give him techniques for his own gaming endeavors.

Jacob sees himself as a huge procrastinator and is often tempted by video games.

“I’ve been trying to get in the headspace and bear down to get my work done,” Jacob said, “But I’m an overachiever in procrastinating.”

Throughout the school day, Jacob tries to keep his distance from any technology that can distract him from his work.

He even goes to the extent of placing his phone across the room so he won’t be tempted to browse during class. 

“I tend to put myself in a position to make sure I’m not distracted,” Jacob said.

However, on Jacob’s free days, he spends his time playing video games. Recently Jacob has been enjoying the video game, Cyberpunk 2077.

“It doesn’t feel like a game,” Jacob said, “It’s like a cinematic experience.”

Jacob originally found out about the video game, Cyberpunk, through one of his favorite authors, Mike Pondsmith, after coming to the realization that Pondsmith created the video game. Ever since then, Jacob has had a hard time putting down the game.

“The main reason I love anything from Mike is because when they make mistakes, they make up for it,” Jacob said. “They left their audience anticipating eight years for the newest video game, in the end, they owned up to the mistake of taking so long, and made up for [the wait] with the amazing experience that they create for the players.” 

Jacob’s obsession with video games branched off of his father’s initial love with them. And, now, he’s somewhat addicted to the form of technology, just as Ashley and Jack have clung to the different apps on their phones. 

“If it wasn’t for my dad, I would’ve never found my love for video games,” Jacob said. “Thanks to my dad introducing video games into my life at a young age, we were able to spend countless hours playing together making memories that we will cherish forever.”