Laptops hurt smart students

You're reading this article online. Are you on a laptop? Are you in class right now? If you're smart, a study confirms, you'd better not be.

Some educators want laptops banned from the lecture hall. The Internet is an obvious distraction. But students say they're totally capable of tuning out during class- even without Facebook, Instagram, and reddit.

Now cold hard data is backing up those in the anti-laptop camp. But there's a catch! In a new semester-long study done at West Point, researchers found that students allowed to use laptops scored worse on the final exam, surprising no one. But the students whose test results were hurt the most were those who had the highest ACT scores and highest GPAs. Those with lower ACT scores didn't seem to be affected by the presence of technology.

Researchers aren't sure why. Maybe the top students just assumed they wouldn’t fall victim to the distraction or overestimated their ability to multitask- as many of us do. Or maybe they were such good students because they’d actually been paying attention in class when they didn’t have access to laptops.

What are those brainiacs getting into on their computers? If they’re really smart, they’ll keep their heads in their books.