智能手机风靡校园

Wang Yuanyuan

Nearly every middle school student in the city owns a mobile phone despite many schools banning the products from campus. An increasing number of students are changing their old models for smartphones.

"IPhones may be too expensive, but many of us choose smartphones with 3G network because it is important to have regular Internet access," said Liu Yida, a Senior 2 student at Wenjin Middle School in Luohu District.

"Having constant access to QQ and Sina weibo can help us save money on phonecalls and text messages," Liu said.

However, many schools thought using smartphones might negatively impact students' studies.

"Smartphones are useful, but I still think parents should not buy smartphones for middle school students because many of them waste time on the Internet," said Li Jianli, a teacher from the student department of the school.

Instead of looking up useful information, many students use the phones to play games and chat with friends, said Li.

"Students regularly play games, read comics and chat on QQ in class. The smartphone has a lot of fun functions that the traditional phone does not have, and many students have become addicted to it," said Li.

Many parents were also worried about their children using smartphones. "I bought a phone for my son so we could stay in contact, but I did not know much about phones and bought a HTC smartphone for him as he suggested. Now he is constantly looking at his phone," said Lu Min, the mother of a Senior 1 student.

Education experts suggested parents supervise their children's use of smartphones.

"A smartphone is a useful tool, but it should not take over a person's life. It is better to wait until after they have finished high school," said Huang Shiying, an education expert at the city's Education Bureau.