I have taught many children throughout the last seven years working in a public school system. Children between the ages of 4- 17 years old. While working with different age groups, I have noticed that children have unique learning styles of themselves. Some students can sit quietly and focus for long periods; unfortunately, some do not. Unfortunately, some student’s attention span to focus solely on schoolwork for long periods is impossible. Why is that? According to a study conducted by Microsoft Canada, humans have shorter attention spans than goldish. Realistically, we know how long a goldfish can sit still without moving. Is the internet affecting the attention span of young people? According to Chokhani (Chokhani, T. 2023), smartphones have become necessary on top of the survival pyramid. I am noticing more that humans, especially children, are only interested in things that revolve around the internet/social media.
What I find to be most common today is the heavy connection between humans and the internet. People worldwide rely solely on the internet for information before reaching out to another individual. According to a study, children, especially teenagers, showed their attention span was no longer than 8 seconds. The effects of social media have on our young people is real. Children feel like the internet is more relatable because of its popularity. Therefore, they instead take their opinions or look for gratification from the internet because it seems like a cool thing to do.
Unfortunately, some children are medically diagnosed; therefore, they cannot control their attention span, such as ADHD. ADHA is a mental health condition with a short attention span. Those who have ADHD are highly affected, and only the internet makes it worse. Children with ADHD sometimes need the internet to help them focus because it is relatable to them; it is the language they understand most.
The attachment to the internet plays a significant role when it comes to education. It dramatically impacts our young people’s ability to perform academically well. Imagine being inside a classroom after arriving at school, and the teacher confiscated your phone for the next 7 hours. According to surveys, the percentage of young people spending time on the internet differs based on different age groups. Surveys have shown that 97% of children in the United States spend time on the Internet daily. Out of the 97%, 47% of children between the ages of 13 and 17 state they use the internet constantly. This is why most children perform below grade level: there needs to be more effort put into academics, the way young people put into their devices.
Although the internet has many effects on our young children, the use of devices is also on their parents/guardians. Parents and guardians are not enforcing to cut down on decides and the internet; therefore, young children continue to engage in social media and internet use. Young people do not find it an issue, nor do their parents. I believe parents allow their children idle time to use their devices and browse the internet as an escape route to have “quiet time” for the children not to disturb them.
References:
Chokhani, T. (2023) A deep dive into the shrinking attention span, eLearning Industry. Available at: https://elearningindustry.com/a-deep-dive-into-the-shrinking-attention-span#:~:text=Summary%3A%20The%20constant%20use%20of,isolation%2C%20according%20to%20several%20studies. (Accessed: 29 October 2023).
Newman, M. Z. (2010). New media, young audiences and discourses of attention: from Sesame Street to “snack culture.” Media, Culture & Society, 32(4), 581–596. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443710367693
Half of US teens use the internet “almost constantly”. but where are they spending their time online? World Economic Forum. (n.d.). https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/08/social-media-internet-online-teenagers-screens-us/
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