Walking through the halls of LT, it is evident the majority of the student body is more engrossed in their phones than those around them. Further, when the LION newspaper conducted a survey of 967 NC students and 759 SC students about their in-class Snapchat or Instagram use, only one student responded no. Upon investigation, the student revealed that he did not have a phone, but he would often look on at others’ phones to compensate.

Because student attention rates are so low, teachers are implementing a new teaching style: live stream lectures.

“It is so hard to teach nowadays,” LT math teacher Thaddeus Slope said. “So we are using social media to reach our students, in the hopes that we can drill some knowledge into their heads.”

Snapchat has a location story feature, and teachers are setting up “class stories.” They record the notes, lectures, and practice problems on the board, and link in outside information in hopes the students will stumble across it.

“Like, I’ll totally check my snap and insta when I’m bored in English,” Ashleigh Keenwah ‘19 said. “Poetry FRQ’s are gross. For real, it’s way easier just to join a group snap; I have to bring a portable varger to school, but it’s like, so worth it.”

This new change may be leading education reform, LT principal Byron Aguahombre said. Schools nationwide are facing similar problems with social media addictions; live stories on Instagram are gaining popularity as a teaching mechanism as well.

“Students will slide up with their questions, or drop in some likes if they understand the material,” Slope said said. “It’s really incredible to see how the face of education is being shaped around social media.”

The biggest concern around this revolves around classrooms with poor service, but due to so many less students using school computers, the wifi is easier to access for all, Slope said.

It is too early to tell if the new method of lecturing has seen any effect, Aguahombre said. For now, the best teachers can do is keep using filters to draw in student attention, plugging for likes and, as always, staying lit in lectures.