Are 6th graders overusing their iPads?

If you’ve walked past the big stone stairs near the gym in H-B Woodlawn, you may have noticed a group of 6th graders staring endlessly at their APS school devices (iPads). Most days there are about 15 kids, but some days the number can nearly double. Cole Myklegard and Khumoyun Ibrokhimov investigated the truth about the iPad addiction, and if there’s anything they can do to stop it.

As we started our journey, our first stop was Casey Robinson, the principal of H-B Woodlawn. We asked Casey about her view of the overuse of iPads. She said, “I do see at I block and other times kids are on their iPads instead of using time to talk to a teacher, talk to each other, or take a break that’s not screen related.”

You may be curious what these students are doing on their iPads. Well there’s a little game (which we can’t say for controversial reasons) that EVERYONE plays. This website has a lot of different games to choose from, and a lot of kids playing them. Even though we have seen kids using their iPads to socialize at times,, it’s just not the same when they’re eyes are glued to devices.

Our next and final stop was to talk to the kids themselves. The first two people we interviewed don’t use their devices, and said that kids who do during free time should go touch grass. A pretty ruthless response, if you ask us. They also said that it could be the parents fault because they gave them iPads at a younger age.

We also spoke with the kids who use their iPads all the time. They said it’s because most classes were boring, and H-B gives them a lot of freedom.

In conclusion, we think iPads are starting to become a bigger problem at school. At the end of the day, we should just be thankful that we have the resources we need for a good education, but also make sure we spend time with friends and be outside more.