Let’s face it: if you’re reading this, chances are you aren’t going to finish this article. You’re going to be on your phone. If you’re a teenager, chances are you’re probably doing this during school hours; your history lecture can only keep you entertained for so long. You get bored, open up a social media app and begin mindlessly scrolling. Contrary to what older generations believe, this constant exposure and what’s often labeled as “addiction” to social media has the potential to be beneficial to Noblesville’s learning environment.

Here’s an example: Friday February 20 I tweeted a picture of the two-hour delay schedule, and got 16 retweets in under an hour. Let’s assume each of those 16 people has around 30 followers that attend Noblesville High School. When those 16 people shared my picture, a minimum of approximately 480 students were aware of the schedule change. This reduced the possibility of any confusion regarding that morning’s schedule. 480 kids were instantly alert, as opposed to coming to school and causing more commotion than the delay had already caused.

Being constantly connected like this, we are always up to date on any changes that could severely affect our day. Whether it’s a crash on State Road 32 during rush hour, the possibility of an ALICE drill during fifth block, or the unexpected promposal in the commons, students consider this information vital to our everyday lives. While nearly every high school student can admit to being distracted by these social media platforms, without them, information would take much longer to circulate through the student body. This may result in traffic problems, being late to class, or the embarrassment of not being informed of social drama. News from Twitter travels much faster than it does with the newspapers and magazines of our parent’s generation. Newspapers like the one you hold in your hand are only printed and updated monthly; Twitter is updated every second.

According to Technology Instructional Coach Christy Steffen, it’s when apps become a nuisance that administration takes steps to lock it. Twitter has not yet gotten to the point where it disrupts the school day to a dangerous degree. Yes, kids are distracted, but the benefits of such an app outweigh the drawbacks. Assistant principal Craig McCaffrey can tweet about a school sanctioned event, and all his Noblesville followers will be informed about it. Economics teacher Shannon White can assign her students an online discussion through Twitter to improve learning opportunities in the classroom. But if students abuse the sharing capabilities of social media, administration will take action. It’s up to Noblesville students to use social media responsibily while still enjoying the novelties it provides.