by Talia Scott
Nowadays walking around we see almost everyone on the street with headphones in calmly strolling the streets.
From little children to adults it seems like everyone has a pair of airpods.
Today’s society has become so dependent and accustomed to the freedom of music playing or a phone to snap a picture. As times evolve these are some things that we become more reliant on without even realizing.
Students not only in O’Bryant but all around the world treat airpods and music as a whole as an escape or wind down in comparison to reality.
Though they can be distracting if used in an abusive manner, allowing for airpods to be in use during school hours could benefit students in terms of performance, focus level, and overall mood because it allows them to have that personalization and serene feeling when walking through the halls and working in class.
Studies have shown that music can be used for many things other than the background sound of a tiktok or an addition to a playlist.
Studies are showing that listening to music can relieve symptoms of depression, reduce stress, and improve mood. As a highschool student you are constantly busy and stressed out over workloads, friends and other hormonal things. As of 2021 41% of high school students in America were diagnosed with depression.
More highschool students, more specifically junior and sophom*ores, will go undiagnosed with depression and anxiety.
These therapeutic effects of music can be used by these students to hopefully raise them in spirits nights as well.
As an honor roll student who is freshly a junior, I know all about what it is like to be overwhelmed in school.
There was once a time when I was on the verge of a breaking point, a few breaths away from an anxiety attack during school. Yet I took a much needed break from class, put my airpods in and took a walk around the building. It took a song and a half to calm me down yet I wouldn’t have been able to do so without my airpods.
Though airpods are beneficial to highschool students in their everyday routine, they still provide some issues for the faculty and administration to have to deal with.
When used in an abusive manner airpods can be distracting to others. Playing music too loud in a quiet class or missing directions from an adult can only lead to more conflict. It could potentially cause fights between students and/or conflict between each other. Alongside provoking classmates this overly loud music could be seen as a symbol of ignorance and disrespect from students.
Not only did these overly loud airpods provoke students but they can also be seen as a threat and/or a safety hazard…This loud music playing in ears leave no space for the sound to flow through.
Yet there will somehow always be this one person to ruin it for everyone else.
Permitting airpods in school despite the safety and potential conflict it may cause, allows for the bettering and overall happiness of students like myself to have a much needed stress reliever throughout the day. Airpods should be allowed in schools in OB and alike because it benefits and strengthens our mental health as busy teens.
written by an OB student, that can’t imagine a life without music
