Smartphones for All Students: An Academic Equalizer in an Era of Income Inequality?
An academic prompts debate after commenting on low-income students’ need for smartphones and how lack of access to the devices can hurt college performance.
By
Lindsay McKenzie
December 5, 2018
As social inequality on American college campuses continues to spark debate, the fast-growing use of smartphone technology is raising new questions about the divide between poor and affluent students: Should all students have smartphones, whether or not they can afford them? Have smartphones become as important to student success as food and housing? Would having smartphones help low-income students be more academically successful?
Sara Goldrick-Rab, a Temple University professor known for her work addressing socioeconomic inequalities in higher education, set off a conversation about the necessity of smartphones in higher ed last weekend when she fired back at a Twitter comment suggesting that students wouldn't go hungry if they spent less money on expensive phones.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/12/05/college-profs-say-smartphones-can-help-low-income-students-have-academic-success
