Technological advances have overwhelmed the human race. While these advancements have their countless benefits, they also have their drawbacks. Likewise, replacing high school textbooks with laptops has some advantages, but it also has many disadvantages. Laptops in high schools are a huge distraction for students, are very expensive to purchase and maintain initially, and can cause many health problems. Replacing textbooks with laptops in high schools ignores the negative effects on students, leading one to conclude that it is a terrible idea. Laptops in school are a bad idea because they will provide students with a constant source of distraction. Matt Richtel is the winner of the “Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting” for his article in the New York Times. Mr. Richtel wrote "computers and [portable] cell phones, and the constant flow of stimulation they offer, pose a profound new challenge to concentration and learning" (Richtel). Students will drift away from schoolwork and waste time with less important distractions such as social networks and media such as Twitter and YouTube. There is a clear relationship between laptop use in class and lower overall course performance (CanWest News Service). It is now clear that laptops put students at a disadvantage and that textbooks would be the better learning tool. Carrie Fried, a highly respected researcher at Winona State University, said in an interview "[The laptops] clearly interfered with students' learning of the material, and it was clearly a distraction to everyone around them" ( Fried). Laptops can bring exciting new technologies into the classroom, but this will only come at the expense of students' concentration in class, which will distract them from their initial purpose... /how-do-you-compare-teens-spending-31-hours-a-week- online/>.Ray, Ramon. Technological solutions for growing companies. New York: AMACOM, 2004. 67. eBook.Richtel, Matt. "Growing up digital, predisposed to distraction." The New York Times. Np, 11/21/12. Network. 16 September 2012. Schmidt, Sarah. “Laptops are distracting, study finds.” Prophetic. Np, 2007. Web. 17 September 2012. "How dangerous are laptops for your health?" (2011): n. page. Press. .