Picture this: you walk into a CHS classroom and every student has a district-issued iPad in front of them. Their minds are scrambled and they’re barely focusing on the lesson; all they know is swipe swipe swipe. Is this the future we’re looking at? An Orwellian future in which technology dominates our students and what once used to be a revolutionary tool for development and the betterment of our educational system, has now become our enemies? Is it too soon to pull out the tin-foil hats and start picketing? Well, depending on whether you’re a student or a teacher, this onslaught of famous online game “2048” can be a most jubilant experience or the end of CHS as we know it.

“2048” is an online game in which a player’s main objective is to swipe in all four directions to combine tiles, starting at 2, with other tiles of the same value until the “2048” tile is achieved. So just how did this sensation start? Can it be chalked up to our new unregulated access to iPads in the classroom or maybe even an addiction to instant gratification following a return to in person classes?

CHS junior Erin Murphy, a four time “2048” champion, believes that students’ fixation on online gaming has been greatly exacerbated by the past year of online schooling.

“Because we had a year of freedom in regards to being able to go on our phones, it makes it a lot harder to focus in class this year when we are physically in person and not constrained to a tiny screen,” Murphy said.

Murphy, like many other students, became accustomed to the unlimited and unregulated access to technology that online school provided last year. The effects of this increased online freedom are prevalent in CHS students’ new “2048” habits. But Murphy doesn’t think this sensation can be attributed only to the last year spent online. She also believes that “2048” itself has an addictive nature. Due to its fidget toy-like aspects there is no need for concentration skills: all one has to do is swipe mindlessly. “2048” truly has infiltrated and altered the minds of CHS students.

“It’s almost second nature to switch between it [“2048”] and Google Docs while taking notes,” Murphy said.

History teacher Ryan Easton is somewhat understanding of the situation. He knows, first hand, the dependency on “2048” and is sympathetic to those that have fallen into the vicious grip of the game. However when the strong arm of the law must come down, it will come down hard.

“To be completely honest, if I had it my way, I would shut them

all down,”
Easton said.

Now, does the spread of “2048” warrant such an authoritative response? Well, looking at the bigger picture, according to Easton, 10-15 % of his students game while he is instructing. However, a negative correlation can be drawn between the student’s quiz and test scores and the amount of “2048” being played. Even if a student isn’t extensively distracted by “2048” and other online games, the issue lies in the general respect of the classroom and the overarching lack of self-control. Students must learn to put their foot down, and be disciplined and diligent enough to realize that “2048” can be played another time.

“Just imagine if you and I were having a conversation, and then all of a sudden you pull out your phone, just swiping back and forth playing “2048”,” Easton said. “It’s like ‘Hey, are you even listening to me?’ It’s rude…in terms of being a human being, you’re being a really rude human being right now.”

Students have obviously been disproportionately affected by the pandemic at a young age; they’ve been thrown into an uncertain world and stuck at home for countless months. What has remedied this? Gaming. It’s clear now that students are now accustomed to the easy access of games and not just that, but the ability to do many things at once, all while being in class. Even though this aspect of their life has been torn from them, traces of it remain. The “2048” fiasco may never be solved, and in ten, maybe even twenty, years from now we’ll still see high school students swiping like there is no tomorrow. Maybe that’s reassuring to know that the juvenile and fun-seeking minds of children will never change, but it could also show the lack of authority instilled in future generations and the lack of discipline in school. The issue changes depending on your position in life. For now though, don’t mind if I…wait, 1024 plus 1024 adds up to 2048, right?! Sweet I win!