Distracted Generation

Distracted Generation

          Over the past few decades, the world has witnessed unprecedented technological advancements. This phenomenon has fundamentally changed how people go about their day-to-day lives. Technological advancements have increased the adoption of the internet and increased the use of such social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Communication and access to information are now easier than ever before. Specifically, people can now receive and exchange information in a more efficient manner. The use of social media for marketing and entertainment has skyrocketed (Paasonen). The use of technology has become a fundamental component of the daily routine for most individuals. Notable examples of daily use of technology include streaming of music, watching movies, and socializing. Due to this dependence on technology and easy access to information from various sources, distraction is inevitable. It is argued that the current generation is highly distracted. In particular, the increased sources of distraction have significantly reduced peoples’ concentration span and attention levels. Despite all the advantages associated with technology, there are concerns that distractions are detrimental to individuals, especially learners. In light of this, this essay will explore distractions in the current generation and its impacts on education.

The current generation is comprised of such groups as millennials and generation Z, whose members have an unprecedented quest for knowledge and information. Technological advancements have immensely impacted these groups owing to their access to different streams of information sources. In this century, almost all scholars own either a smartphone, a laptop, a tablet, or any other form of information and communication device. The constant access to these electronic devices has made individuals dependent on technology, making it an indispensable part of their daily lives. The devices have become a source of constant distraction and interruption throughout the day (Paasonen). This is particularly a concern for employees and students because of the constant fragmentation of their time, and the continuous interruptions erode their ability to concentrate.

The constant interruption at the workplace has a profound impact on peoples’ output and service delivery. For students, learning is significantly compromised. One notable important aspect of the learning process is IQ (Dweck 4). When assessed through an IQ test, it has been established that the students who are highly distracted by phone messages, calls, and email messages often have IQ points of below ten. The impact of interruptions on a person’s productivity can be detrimental. Recently, studies showed that students experience some form of interruption after every eight minutes per hour. In one school day, this translates to sixty interruptions. On average, one interruption takes five minutes, translating into approximately five hours of the wasted school day. Considering that it takes about fifteen minutes for an individual to resume to an optimum level of concentration, it means that there is no time for people to focus and concentrate on productive activities.

Student life is characterized by the heavy use of social media and other digital platforms. Students are also more likely to multitask in their daily lives. While many deem multitasking a desirable skill, the act of switching between different activities may render one ineffective (Winter 75). Bodily hormones, such as cortisol and adrenaline, are designed to provide support during robust activities. Extended switching between tasks results in cortisol displacing the hormones responsible for pleasure, such as dopamine and serotonin. Exacerbated displacement of the feel-good hormones alters the normal sleep-wake cycle and may result in an alteration of the heart rate. Due to an altered heart rate, an individual may feel apprehensive most of the time. These physiological issues are resultant of daily behavior in the use of technology and predominantly act as the basis for poor concentration.

The robust growth in technology has led to the development of more platforms that offer varied forms of knowledge. Students are exposed to different sources of information, which increases distraction due to information overload. For instance, there has been an increase in the number of such platforms as websites, mobile applications, social which offer different types of content to its subscribers. Information overload causes distraction by curtailing the students’ critical thinking and research skills (Paasonen). Some websites are filled with obscure information that elicits sexual sensations among the students. Raised sexual feelings make learning a problem in most circumstances by manipulating the psychological freedom of the students’ minds. Research has shown that a student who, at one point, is exposed to explicit sexual content either in the form of print media, videos, or music, tends to spend a considerable amount of time digesting the information. In this digital era, most students are vulnerable to all types of content, making concentration at studies a concern.

The prime side effects associated with the application of digital technology in students’ life is an addiction. Students are constantly browsing their twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and other social media accounts for updates. Increased level of dependency on media negatively impacts other valued activities like actively participating in co-curriculum activities, real-life conversations, and physical activities. Formation of more fake accounts on social media networks has seen boys pretending to be girls and vice versa. Following such accounts may result in embarrassment, disappointment, and, consequently, depression among students hence negatively affecting their esteem and academic potential.

The widespread use of social media and the speed at which information is published has formed a lax attitude towards the observation of rules of academic writing such as word choice, grammar, and spelling. This lowers the students’ ability to effectively communicate through coherent writing without relying on the word’s spell check feature embedded in computer software. Increased access to information through technological devices like mobile phones has also seen a reduction in the retention of information and the willingness of students to spend more time in the library researching and looking for relevant information. Social networks are consuming crucial time that students would use for skill development. Students tend to spend more time on social platforms and much lesser time on socializing in person. The students develop poor body signals and other non-verbal cues such as inflection, tone, and courage. Students who have embraced social media as a replacement for face-to-face communication are less effective in personal communication.

Students have been lured to posting private information and controversial statements owing to the virtual protection and anonymity internet seems to offer. Many academic institutions and possibly future employers investigate all applicants’ social media profiles before granting them acceptance in respective positions. Most users do not evaluate the nature of the content they publish online, which results in negative consequences years down the road. Given their inability to sieve through the information availed online, young people, particularly students, may end up interacting with negative content as opposed to focusing on educative materials.

In order to minimize the impact of distraction on education, all key stakeholders should be involved. The government, software and application developers, media houses, and academic institutions should be involved in developing a long-lasting solution to the challenges associated with technological advancements being witnessed in this era. Firstly, concentration among students can be achieved through various techniques. Students who are fond of being distracted in class or during studies should devise ways of evading this. Most modern technological devices have a provision for silencing distracting updates and notifications. Students should ensure that their phones are on silent mode before settling for either class or personal studies. Modern mobiles also have a feature that prevents all notifications and only allow those from a prioritized list. Switching to the “do not disturb” feature can help focus a student’s concentration. Secondly, managing time well can be very crucial in balancing between time spent on academics and social media and related activities. Students should be trained on how to integrate media and technology into their academics and social lives without depriving them of control over what they ought to be doing. This can be achieved through the formulation of policies that guard the use of mobile devices in school and class. These policies should aim at curtailing the over-dependency of students on digital devices.

Thirdly, the government should amend rules and create more regulation on matters which expose students to technological devices. The government should also define what type of content should be exposed to a certain level of students. These regulations should be formulated and implemented in ways that will not infringe on the advantages associated with the application of technology in education. Fourthly, students should be taught about the advantages and disadvantages associated with the application of technology in education. School curriculum should be adjusted to expose young students to varied research that explores the dangers of over-reliance on the technological devices and obsession of social networking. These young students should be enlightened on the adverse effects of social media on their future concentration levels. Adjustments should be made so that other options other than social media are featured.

Students should be taught on responsibility and conscious behavior. Starting at a tender age, school-going children should be advised on matters of privacy in cyberspace and the potential risks and dangers that accompany the integration of technology in education. If possible, different past cases should be cited to help them internalize the real issue. All the stakeholders in a student’s life should be involved in monitoring and limiting the use of technology in students’ lives. Manufacturers and software developers should create features that allow users to control and restrict the type of content children consume from the internet. Some companies have already implemented this, through restrictions of the screen time, Parents and teachers can adjust how long their subject will be using the gadget being monitored before it shuts down. Students should be encouraged to embrace alternatives to the internet, such as reading paper books. His will help deviate their attention from the technology. Also, they should be encouraged to take part in hobby activities like playing soccer as opposed to online games. Key industrial players should also set examples for the students to copy and embrace.

In this digital era, students are bound to face constant distraction from the overuse of technology and social media. Overuse of social media networks like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and WhatsApp has a detrimental impact on one’s level of concentration. It lowers concentration-time through alteration of hormonal balance in the body. The extreme level of switching between media and classwork results in cortisol functions overwhelming

bodily hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline, which are designed to provide support during robust activities. Extended switching between tasks results in cortisol displacing the hormones responsible for pleasure, such as dopamine and serotonin. Exacerbated displacement of feel-good hormones affects the normal sleep-wake cycles and may result in alteration of the heart rate, making the victim feel apprehensive all the time. These physiological chances are resultant of daily behavior, predominantly leading to poor concentration. It is important for all stakeholders to collectively come up with ways of reducing distractions amongst students so as to promote learning. Ultimately, this is important in ensuring that a multifaceted approach is used in addressing distractions amongst students so as to promote learning.