College Students Texting During Class

by Kristen Hawley 5

Everyone knows that teens are the kings and queens of texting, but recent data shows the 18-24 age group is gaining ground, sending an average of 1,630 texts per month, or three per hour. A new study finds that college students are texting during class and that, according to the students involved, professors would be shocked to learn how much texting occurs.

First, some statistics: 95 percent of those surveyed say they bring their phones to class every day. Ninety-one percent admitted to using their phones to text during class, and about half said it's easy to get away with texting unnoticed by the professor. And even though a quarter of those surveyed said that texting presents a major distraction during class, over half believe they should be allowed to text if they don't disturb others. And, a shocking 10 percent of respondents have sent a text during an exam. Isn't that called cheating? Find out my thoughts and share your own after the break.

Full disclosure: I went to college before texting had blown up into its current crazed state, but I'm fairly certain that if I would have pulled my clunky Nokia out of my bag to send a message, my professor would have noticed. Once I was busted for sending an IM during a computer class and was mortified — I can't imagine texting during class, whether I thought I was being disruptive or not. College students: do these numbers seem right? Are my thoughts outdated? And, is it ever OK to text during class?