More BU students appear to be coping with cracked phone screens this year.

Senior Kaylin McCrary falls into this category. McCrary said she breaks her phone often, and in a variety of ways.

“I’ve broken two iPhone 4’s, and iPhone S, and an iPhone 5,” McCrary said. “I dropped my phone in a cup of milk, dropped it on the sidewalk and it shattered, and one time I fell asleep with my phone plugged in on my nightstand, and I when I woke up my phone was shattered.”

McCrary replaces her cracked phones as soon as possible. For her, a shattered phone is as bad as not having one.

“I usually fix my phone immediately. If I wait at all, it is because it still works and has minor damage, but for me that hasn’t been the case, I’ve had to replace them quickly each time,” she said. “Unfortunately the front of my phone was the side that was shattered. I didn’t do anything creative with it.”

Some students are even turning their cracked screens into art by using a permanent marker to fill in the cracks with color. Inge Balch, professor of art, however, doesn’t necessarily view this trend as artwork.

“Bows and glitter do not make art,” Balch said. “I have only seen pictures of broken ‘art’ phones. Some are creative but not necessarily art. If mine broke and did not function, I would get a new one ASAP, but if it was still functional I would make it ‘art.’ Why carry a phone around that does not work? If there were a bunch of broken phones, it could be fun making them in to a sculpture.”

Freshman Tyler Brough broke his iPhone 5s after dropping it multiple times without a case on, but he didn’t decorate it because he felt like only girls and women add color to their broken phones.

“I don’t think people are breaking their phones on purpose, and I don’t think it’s a ‘trend.’ Some people, like myself, like to use their phone without a case on it,” Brough said. “I also think that people are breaking their phones and just don’t have the money to get it fixed.”

Kaylin also believes that it is sometimes difficult for a college student to replace a broken cell phone.

“I think people realize that if it still works they can save their money by using it until it reaches the point where it no longer serves its purpose,” McCrary said. “Also when mom and dad aren’t paying for the phone replacement, a lot of people are willing to make it last longer to save their money.”