One evening, as I sat in my room reading articles about technology and its effects on education, a single idea piqued my interest in the topic: how students of my generation were viewed as negatively affected in the academic sphere by he advent of the iPhone, iPad and constant television streaming. This idea led me to think about my life and use of technology both inside and outside the walls of my high school. It's hard for me to imagine a life without my devices, but it's nearly impossible to ignore the concerns of teachers across America. In today's society, technology is an important part of the lives of the current generation of high school students and will be even more ingrained in the lives of younger generations. The use of technology in schools will not slow down in the future, but will only grow faster every year. Technology in education has caused students to lose focus in class and become less analytical problem solvers when it comes to critical thinking questions. Clearly, the use of technological devices in the education niche hinders students' ability to learn in the classroom. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Initially, the use of technology in educational settings prevents students from focusing on schoolwork. Of course, students don't always find school fun. Historically, students who were disinterested in a subject or lesson often had no way to escape the teacher's ear; however, in today's culture, students can resort to a small pocket-sized treasure chest of games on their cell phones when they get bored in class. As technological advances evolve, cell phones have made it easier and more accessible for students to distract themselves from learning. New York Times writer Matt Richtel, in his Times article, “Technology Changes How Students Learn, Teachers Say,” published in the New York Times on November 1, 2012, addresses the topic of technology in education and argues that since the technological boom, students have minimized their ability to concentrate on homework. He supports this claim by examining a large-scale survey conducted by the Pew Internet Project, an arm of the Pew Research Group, then by analyzing another large-scale survey conducted by Vicky Rideout of Common Sense Media, a San Francisco nonprofit. which advises parents on children's media use and finally uses interviews with teachers who spend time observing students in their classrooms on a daily basis. Richtel's aim is to show that students of the current generation have changed dramatically in their approach to learning and how the impact of technology has made it more difficult for students to maintain focus on their responsibilities at school, in order to help educators and parents to reconsider the amount of technology use their students should be allowed to use. From the article, Richtel states that, “There is a widespread belief among teachers that students' constant use of digital technology is hindering their attention span,” and this quote is accurate in the culture of our society. In Richtel's quote, he highlights how teachers, the people who spend nearly eight hours a day with students, have seen a noticeable decline in their students' ability to focus on specific tasks in academia. If teachers, given timespent with students, they have all had a similar experience with students' declining attention span, it is difficult to discount this evidence against students. Evidently, teachers have noticed a clear degeneration in students' ability to concentrate since the technological devices in their possession were introduced. Similarly, in the New York Times article, “Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction” (2010), author Matt Richtel, a writer for the New York Times, states that the attention span of contemporary students has declined and suggests that technology is responsible for the decline. He supports this claim by doing the following: first, he begins the article as the story of seventeen-year-old Vishal, a once bright and attentive student whose grades have plummeted since he discovered technology in seventh grade, then, he uses the research fact by a professor at Duke University and the Kaiser Family Foundation to supplement his thesis, finally, includes more stories from students and how they feel their use of technology has affected their academic lives. In this article, Richtel states that "Several recent studies show that young people tend to use home computers for entertainment, not learning, and that this can hurt academic performance, particularly in low-income families." This quote is significant because Richtel explains how studies conducted in the recent past have supported the thesis that home computers are used by students for purposes other than educational ones. For example, students at home might use their computers for social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram or video streaming sites like YouTube instead of using the computer to play learning-centered games, read e-books, or work about homework. Additionally, students tend to spend more time on these non-educational sites than on sites that could help them study for quizzes and tests or deepen their knowledge on topics they are not strong in and thus hinder academic performance. It is well known that it is extremely easy for students to lose focus on academic subjects while being distracted by technology. Additionally, technology in education has been shown to reduce the amount of critical thinking students do about complex problems. Matt Richtel also discusses the topic of impaired problem-solving skills in his article “Technology Changes How Students Learn, Teachers Say.” In this article, Richtel states: "Lisa Baldwin, 48, a high school teacher in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, [who] said students' ability to concentrate and combat academic challenges was suffering an 'exponential decline'." It goes on to say that: “He said the decline was sharpest among students whose parents allowed unlimited access to television, phones, iPads and video games.” Clearly, in recent years, teachers have noticed the decline in students' critical thinking skills. Whether it's math, science, English, or any other subject, there will always be challenges for students who may not necessarily be sure how to solve the intended problem. As technology advances, students will be more able to use the Internet to find answers to such complicated problems instead of learning how to solve them, which in turn will cause them to slowly lose the critical thinking skills needed in adulthood. As in Ms. Baldwin's quote, the “academic challenges” presented to students will not just disappear as technology evolves, and students will need to become problem solvers,.