Concentrating on school becomes a significant issue in the lives of teachers, psychologists, and researchers. Considering the increasing number of digital devices and students’ ever-growth learning stimuli, there is a fear that these factors might affect students’ concentration and ability to focus. This essay will focus on the shortening attention span among high school students, supported by some empirical studies, and further explain the psychological aspects.
Key Points from Sources
Trauma-informed high schools: In terms of narrative systematic reviews, Cohen and Barron (2021) explored the impact of trauma-informed educational institutions on high schoolers in their publication. They researched the role of trauma-informed techniques that may foster students’ mental health and emotional stability, which are directly associated with attentiveness and concentration levels. Whatever war that one has had or is going through can considerably worsen the students’ capacity to concentrate in school (Cohen & Barron, 2021). Students learning and performance can be provided with a better chance by schools that make conditions for teachers to recognize the issue of trauma and offer solutions.
Social media and students’ well-being: Tkáčová and peers (2021) in their study established that the likelihood of suspension of students’ mental health because of their social media usage was more significant during COVID-19. They evidenced the fact that the use of social media above moderation was related to a lower well-being rate that was occurring alongside higher degrees of stress, anxiety, and depression. Social media sites are done in such a way that they take in and hold users’ attention, which often brings out compulsive use of those users and distraction (Tkáčová et al., 2021). Students always get this impulsivity because they are regularly exposed to this idiocy, and it makes it impossible for them to pay attention to their academic responsibilities, and it may affect the duration of their attention span
Discussion
The results from the investigations mentioned above display how the formation of such attention spans is composed of a mixture of different composing parts. Troublesome, which may derive from personal experience and other tension factors such as the COVID-19 contagion, can affect a student’s self-esteem and the ability to focus at school. A trauma-informed approach, directed towards the students’ health and an institution that provides a supportive atmosphere, is imperative for alleviating these problems.
As social media becomes the norm among teens, the second challenge is the overwhelming nature of social media’s impact on teens’ capacity to pay attention. The social media environment is “programmed” in such a way that users feel the need to frequently check it for posts, messages, and other notifications (Cohen & Barron, 2021). The flow of information ceaselessly may result in a reduced attention span and a weak ability to work on academic duties diligently. Because of this, teachers and parents must be aware of students’ social media usage, and they should promote healthy attitudes that prioritize undertaking offline activities and forward personal contacts. In addition, it is necessary to realize such matters are not entirely attributable to external variables, like the traumatic experience, social media use, or how data is presented. In addition, distinct variations occurring in listening, thinking, and understanding capabilities help form attention span differences (Tkáčová et al., 2021). Hence, those interventions that seek to enhance attention abilities should not be confined to a single aspect but rather take a holistic perspective by considering internal and environmental factors.
Conclusion
Most of all, the factors behind the limited attention in high schools are school difficulties, social media usage, and differences from learner to learner. Solving these problems involves a sensible approach that offers students good mental health and psychological well-being well-being. This process is enabled by establishing a nurturing environment, encouraging healthy habits, and deciphering the intrinsic factors that bring about better attention spans for their students both academically and as persons.
References
Cohen, C. E., & Barron, I. G. (2021). Trauma-informed high schools: A systematic narrative review of the literature. School mental health, 13(2), 225-234.
Tkáčová, H., Pavlíková, M., Jenisová, Z., Maturkanič, P., & Králik, R. (2021). Social media and students’ well-being: An empirical analysis during the covid-19 pandemic. Sustainability, 13(18), 10442.
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