A majority of students are texting during classes at N.C. State and other universities across the United States. 

The Atlantic published a study that found that 80 percent of college students text in class, reinforcing the idea that using mobile phones in the classroom has become the new norm. The results came from 777 college and graduate students in Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, North Carolina and Mississippi. 

Angelica Stanisic, a freshman in textiles, said she uses her cell phone two or three times every class period.

“I am mostly just checking the time or texting,” Stanisic said. “It doesn’t make me forget about the lecture as long as I don’t get caught up in browsing Facebook for long periods of time.”

The survey also found that almost a third of students use a digital device more than 11 times during classes for non-classroom related activities. 

Some professors ban the use of cellphones in class because of the level of distraction they cause. However, 37 percent of respondents said their personal use of cellphones don’t create a distraction and another 52 percent said that they only distracted them a little bit. 

Anita Flick, the N.C. State health professions advising director, said that she believes the survey results are accurate. Flick also said taking cellphones away from students would probably cause more problems than simply letting students text during class. 

“I almost feel at times that folks have gotten so used to them that they would be more distracted thinking about what they were missing,” Flick said. 

Flick said the problem isn’t texting itself, but how little some students try to keep it hidden to avoid distracting their peers.

“I had a student last semester that not only did not attempt to use her cell[phone] in her lap, but she actually texted throughout almost the entire class holding it up and in front of her face,” Flick said. “It is slightly distracting when people at the front don’t even attempt to hide it.”

Stanisic also said she thinks banning cellphones would cause students to want to use them more, and that the only times that professors should be worried about usage is during exams and quizzes. 

“If there is a possibility of cheating, then the phones should definitely go away,” Stanisic said. “I have seen people try and look up answers on their phones in the middle of tests, and that is really annoying.”

Neal Patel, a freshman in biological sciences, said texting in class is no worse than having a conversation with the person next to you. 

“It is probably less distracting,” Patel said. “Obviously there are times where phones shouldn’t be out. In big lecture halls it’s better to have it quiet with some phones out than listen to bunch of laughing and talking going on.”

Patel said people text during class because the digital age has changed social norms. 

 “People used to pass notes to talk to each other in class and now they text,” Patel said. “They are going to try and communicate with each other no matter what restrictions you put in place.”

Some professors, such as Flick, are choosing to embrace the change rather than fight it. 

“I would like to go to smartphone driven quizzing instead of having students buy clickers in the future,” Flick said. 

Flick said that she has not considered banning cellphones in her classrooms for personal use. 

“I feel I have much bigger things to focus on with my students,” Flick said. “They all tend to be fairly respectful and appropriate, so I don’t have a problem.”