Is the average high school experience shifting from, say, thirty, twenty, or even ten years ago? Everyone’s high school experience is different, but the average high school experience is what’s shifting. High school in the 90s was different than it is today, just like high school in the 90s was different than it was in the early 1900s. High school is always changing, from the information we learn, to the way we learn, and the way we interact with peers. However, even though the average experience for high schoolers is constantly changing, in today’s time it might not be the best change. Things like modern technology, social media, and even world problems are causing this shift.
One of the main things that is causing the change in the average experience is the media. Social media, shows, and movies are all things that are changing how incoming high school students and actual high schoolers view school. Social media brings in stereotypical views that can actually affect the students. Stereotypes like school “cliques” negatively affect students in the sense that they feel like they are limited and don’t really belong. Before social media or movies that were made surrounding certain ideals, these stereotypes didn’t exist.
Another way the average experience is changing is through the modern technology that we have. Not only did technology change the way we learn, but it’s also affecting how we learn as well. Twenty years ago, students didn’t have Chromebooks or phones that they could use to search for whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted. They took tests on paper and still used physical textbooks. Now, everything is online. Even though it is a lot more convenient, having access to such advanced technology all the time isn’t doing students any favors. Problems like cheating on homework and tests are occurring more often. Students not paying attention in class is also a problem when it’s so easy to go online and play a game while the teacher is explaining a lesson.
Communication has also changed. Now that a majority of students have phones, we don’t spend much time actually communicating with each other face to face. During lunch, a lot of students go on their phones and scroll through TikTok, completely isolated from their peers. Negative communication has also spurred, like cyberbullying. Bullying was always a problem in high school, except it used to happen physically. While it is not any better than cyberbullying, at least it is more likely to be known. Now with phones and computers, people can communicate with each other, with anyone for that matter. High School students are constantly being cyberbullied. The worst thing a current high school student twenty years from now should remember is being bullied in person or online, and online is worse because a lot of people feel like it’s something they can’t do anything about.
Lastly, one of the biggest things that is now shifting the average high school experience is world problems. Things worldwide are constantly going on, but not everyone can say they’ve lived through a pandemic during high school. World problems are always going to change the way things work for people because of the long-lasting impacts they have, and they don’t just change the big picture but the details within, like school.
Overall, the high school experience is always changing, in today’s time more than ever. Things like social media, new technology, and even Covid-19 making that change for students. Our parents’ high school experience was different than ours just like ours will be different for our own children in the future. Let’s just hope that change will turn positive and leave good impacts because the last thing needed is to look back and have something negative to remember.
