Leaked: How Smartphones Quietly Control Students

       Deborah  Adeyemi     

Smartphones undoubtedly remain one of the most valued possessions among students, largely due to their unmatched ability to keep users connected, informed, and entertained. Yet a growing concern lingers beneath the convenience — who is really in control: the student or the smartphone?

Across campuses, it is now almost impossible to find students who are not glued to their screens. For many, the device has become more than a tool; it is gradually turning into a remote control dictating their daily choices and behaviour. In extreme cases, students even judge their peers’ worth by the type of phone they use.

Despite several warnings from educators that smartphones are weakening students’ communication and interpersonal skills. Face-to-face conversations are increasingly replaced with chats, even when the person is sitting close by, many students even finds it difficult to interact with their peers. This habit erodes confidence, particularly in public speaking and social interactions.

Academic performance is also taking a hit. Research and constant observations revealed that constant texting and short-form content consumption are shrinking students’ ability to write or speak proper English. Slangs and shortcuts such as “u” for “you” and “sth” for “something” are becoming the norm, while meaningful, vocabulary-building conversations are fading out.

Perhaps the most alarming trend is the ease with which students drift from studying to endless scrolling. Many open their phones intending to read a PDF or complete an assignment, only for a notification to drag them into TikTok or Instagram. Hours disappear, and the academic task remains untouched.

Rising dependence on Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents another challenge. Although AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and others are efficient, students are increasingly outsourcing thinking, writing, and problem-solving to these systems. Even simple arithmetic is handed over to phone calculators, weakening logical reasoning and mental sharpness.

Smartphones have also become personal memory banks. From reminders to to-do lists, students allow their devices to store everything, gradually weakening their natural memory and reducing cognitive resilience.

Nevertheless, the issue is not the device itself but the growing loss of control to it. A smartphone may be powerful, but it should not become the master. The message is simple: use your phone — do not let your phone use you.