The Battle over Headphones: Beneficial or Distracting?

By: Lauren Christie and Maddie Bradbury

Kids wear headphones around the halls, and in class, and it can be an amazing way to focus and essentially make you more productive and efficient. But on the other hand, they can be a major distraction and a way to tune out important information during school.

This prompts the question whether headphones should or shouldn't, be allowed in school. How can something like wearing headphones be both beneficial and distracting?

Some students argue that headphones increase their focus and attention. In fact, according to the Chicago Daily Herald, “79% of students listen to music to increase their productivity, by keeping them focused on their job. Music keeps the environment you are working in quieter.”

To understand these statistics better, we conducted  a study and asked a variety of students who wear headphones, how beneficial it is for them.  

Ariana Tessier, a senior at Wethersfield High School states, “Headphones help me work in a noisy environment”.

If students claim headphones help them focus, why do teachers often to tell students to remove them?  When kids are seen with headphones, the most common response from a teacher is to put them away, but why? To answer our question, we asked someone who enforces the rule with no exceptions.

Mr. Scopetto, P.E. teacher at Wethersfield High School said,  “Do I have headphones on when you talk to me? It is not a personal relationship when you have your headphones on.” Sco emphasized that having headphones on during school is unprofessional and rude.


Headphones can be an useful getaway and put you in exactly in the right mood to get work done. Evidence shows that music helps with productivity and blocking out a distracting environment.

However, there is an appropriate time and place for headphones. If it isn't a safe place to wear them, you shouldn't, and if your teacher isn't comfortable with you wearing them,  you could be potentially missing valuable information.

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