In the modern society, it appears that everyone – even pre-teens – have smartphones. Right when the bell rings to announce the end of the school day, nearly all students are seen whipping out their iPhones to go on Facebook, Twitter, or some other social networking site. There are, however, some high school students who do not have smartphones. Some students do not even have a social networking account.

For some, there is no need to own a smartphone in high school. They tend to become more of a distraction than an advantage. Junior Arianna Jones-Henderson does not have a smartphone, nor does she want one. “I don’t see the use for having a smartphone,” she says. “I have a laptop to go online if I need to.”

Senior Matt Hausmann has the same belief: “I never found the need to have a smartphone. All I need from a phone is texting and calling,” he explained.

It can be intimidating or uncomfortable at times, for some students, to be surrounded by peers who can go on the internet with something they can carry in their pockets. Hausmann said, “Seeing so many students in school makes me want to get one, but it doesn’t influence me enough to actually get one.” Jones-Henderson, however, does not feel this way: “I feel fine about it, because I’m not wasting time on useless activities,” she stated.

There are ways around the Bring Your Own Device program when the situation calls for looking up something on the internet. Hausmann already has a strategy. “If the teacher asks us to look up something, I either use a dictionary or borrow a friend’s smartphone,” he said with a grin.

There definitely are some high school students who require a smartphone, especially if they are rarely in a situation where they can sit down and use a computer. But, based on the experience of Hausmann, Jones-Henderson, and other high school students, regardless of what the society pressures teens to own, we can easily manage without these products.