Lost opportunity

Liao Yasong, a second-year high school student in Changsha, Hunan province, said excessive smartphone use during middle school robbed her of the opportunity to attend the city's best high school.

The 17-year-old first got a smartphone when she was in primary school, but when she went to middle school her grades gradually fell as she spent a lot of time playing with the device and neglecting her studies.

"I was in the top five in my primary school class, but in middle school I fell to the lower rungs as I had poor self-control and wasted too much time on my phone," she said.

The habit continued at high school. Although smartphones were banned, Liao often brought hers to class and could always find ways to play with it without the teacher noticing. Her deception was uncovered during last semester's final exams when her phone suddenly started to ring.

"The teacher called my parents and I started to quarrel with my father. One thing led to another and my father smashed the phone in front of me to show his frustration," she said. "I would not let him have that satisfaction, so I picked it up and smashed it much harder than he did."

The phone shattered into pieces, and the incident was a wake-up call for Liao.

Now, she does not bring her smartphone to school and works much harder at her studies. As a consequence, her grades have improved.

"I let my phone hinder my chances of enrolling at a good high school. That will not happen again, and I will go to my dream university," she said.