Malaysian teens all for using phones during classes

PETALING JAYA: Malaysian teenagers are not ready to put away their phones during classes, despite a United Nations’ recommendation that students do so to protect their mental health and prevent distractions.

The recommendation came from a 2023 Global Education Monitoring Report by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) that analysed global policies on the use of technology in classrooms as well as studies on how screens and social media impact young people.

But students here held a different view.

“Sure, the use of mobile phones can cause someone to lose focus, but the benefits outweigh the cons. A simple example is during the Covid-19 pandemic when we had to use devices to help us learn because we could not go to school physically,” said Noor Aisy Adham Malek, 17.

She said the use of technology during the learning process would help open the minds of youths.

“We can learn about current issues and use Google to search for information that we don’t have,” she added.

Furthermore, she said that students who had to spend a long period in the classroom might have dull moments.

“So, we need to make the learning experience more adaptable for the current generation,” she said.

Wong Ji Kien, 17, believed that there should be changes in the learning process as the classroom setting does not appeal to most youngsters.

“I think we can have a new learning style, especially with the current generation, who are into technology. So, we need to use technology wisely and make classes fun.”

He said that teenagers like him want to be more creative and intelligent.

“So we need the right tools for it. There are many things we can learn from social media. Of course, there has to be monitoring to ensure the right information is being consumed,” he said.