Contrary to school policy, It is quite clear that students at ERHS actively use their cell phones during school hours, made obvious by the numerous school rules regarding phone usage, but a new cellular phenomenon has emerged inside of ERHS: FaceTime.

Not to say that people, especially students, have not FaceTimed since the dawn of the iPhone, but the video call is now evident in the lunchroom and the classroom. Sophomore Jadace Roman said she uses it as entertainment, but only during lunch and only when her table grows silent. “When they stop talking I’m usually FaceTiming someone to talk to,” Roman concludes.

Some students, however, use FaceTime as a distraction from school. Instead of zoning out or slyly checking their texts or twitter feed, students have turned to a more direct method of communication to escape boredom. Freshman Tai Savage said that she pulls out her phone to call a friend “when [she’s] bored” and “not feeling a lesson.” Teachers on the other hand, are not reacting as lightly to this trend. Ms. Morris-Johnson, an English teacher at ERHS and more commonly known as Ms. Mojo, said that if she were to notice a student on a call while she was speaking, she would “shut it down immediately.”

Facetiming during school is no special case to administration. Principal McNeil stated that it is “treated the same as any other cell phone use.”

Based on student feedback, FaceTiming is not an all day event, but one that normally only occupies one or a few periods of the day. Savage says she only spends “maybe one period” a day FaceTiming , while Tavaylah Young and Destini Leftridge, sophomores, both said that they, on average,  FaceTime “three periods” a day. Young and Leftridge said they FaceTime during school “every day” and “almost every day,” respectively.

Despite the commonness of the activity, regular in-school FaceTime friends do not seem to fall under the ordinary friend group. Savage reported that she regularly calls only  “1 or 2  people,” and Young said she “got 2.”  Jadace Roman reported the largest number of regular digital companions, sporting a repertoire of “4 people,” she said.

But why FaceTime? Why not twitter or texting or even a game  instead? The answer lies in the value of not just social interaction, but an interpersonal one as well. “We wanna talk to someone,” Young stated, speaking on behalf of the students. She went on to explain how nothing else on her cell phone compares to the amount of fun that she has while FaceTiming. “You make it fun for yourself,” she explained. When compared to texting, or even standard calling, sophomore Ifelola Bakare finds FaceTiming a more rewarding experience. “I wanna see the person I’m talking to.”