According to techjury.net and smseagle.eu, over 5.13 billion people have cell phones worldwide. In addition, approximately 23 billion SMS messages are sent everyday. 

People need their phones to stay connected with family and friends, but also used for entertainment — playing games and streaming. 

People get lost on Instagram, aimlessly playing with Snapchat filters, find who’s getting dragged with only 280 characters on Twitter, and watching or making funny TikToks, or just Googling random things.

Then, before they realize it, the alert nobody wants to see interrupts their work — LOW BATTERY! In the blink of an eye, it is at one percent and boom: your phone died. What now?

Charge it. If you brought a charger or annoy someone by asking to borrow theirs. You do not have to lend anyone who asks for your charger – it is understandable. “Get your own charger!” 

Wouldn’t it be nice if the school — like airports and stadiums — offered charging stations on campus? The only official charging station nearby is in the library, which is full during lunch.

A charging station is a good idea because your phone could die at anytime. You might not have planned on it, but it happens. Charging stations are convenient because they come with their own cables and are relatively inexpensive, with prices ranging from under $40-$400 depending on size.

Math teacher, Melissa Lu sees a charging station as a way to help students focus on work during class, saying: “I would actually prefer them charging because [the phones would be] along the wall and not in [student’s] hand.” 

Some teachers are on the fence about it. Science teacher, Anthony Iannarelli says “allowing kids to charge their phones can cause them to have too much screen time and literal digital addiction.” He is all about limitations on screen time. 

Phones can be used for educational purposes too. We use it for research in class. According to a Precedent survey, 92 percent of students said they use their phone for academics. While some teachers think phone usage is frustrating and distracting because students are on them too much. Some teachers find it hard for themselves to concentrate when their phones are out but that is the culture today.  

Many teachers already have a way for students to charge their phones: phone pockets up on the wall, with charging outlets nearby. 

It is a good idea because they are accessible. According to the same poll, 37 percent of students say they charge their phones during school — an organized charging area would make both parties happy: the students, whose phones are getting battery life, and teachers, who would not have to fight for students focus during class-time. 

We need our phones for both personal and educational purposes. We also need them to stay connected and interact with society. Meeting new people and staying alert to the news. Phones can entertain us, but also keep us updated with the world.