In this day and age, the world is filled with distractions. From our tiny glowing cell phones to friends and social life, it is hard for anyone to stay on task. Social media and the current generation’s obsession with the buzz of technology takes away from the human ability to concentrate on one task for extended periods of time.
Teens have a hard enough time concentrating during the school day, and they are often drifting off during long lectures or while reading silently during class. For high school students, staying up late to finish papers and take part in after school activities is a huge source of fatigue, which can cause their attention span to decline rapidly.
“A lot of it is not about the teenager itself, or the teacher or classroom environment, it’s what we ask of the teenager. Asking them to get up early is crazy, there’s not enough sleep and not enough time with after school activities, homework, get a job, there’s just too much that we think they can accomplish,” Newtown High School English teacher Kristin English said.
Emotional stress can also make it harder to concentrate, which is very common for high school students. According to a study in Baltimore City concerning the levels of stress in teens based on varied sources, 48% reported stress from romantic relationships and 52% were stressed from friend problems. These looming issues make it hard for a young adult to focus on anything else, even important tests at school, driving, or conversations with family and friends.
“I lose focus, mainly when I’m tired or if I’m in the class with my friends because I talk to them. Maybe if we made school later, then people could get more sleep and get more rested and focus,” NHS junior Sarah Dowling said.
Overall, a student’s attention span is of utmost importance to their high school career and future endeavors. If they tend to fall asleep during class, or cannot concentrate on the task in front of them, their grades will soon begin to plummet and affect their chance at reaching future careers.
“It’s hard to pay attention in class sometimes, but since I have anxiety, I need to occupy myself, so if things aren’t moving around me I have to find something to do,” NHS sophomore Danika Rasmussen said.
Another reason teenagers have trouble paying attention could be the lack of interactive learning in the classroom. Based on the course and the teacher, the amount of hands-on and interactive lessons may vary. For example, a lab in science class could be more interesting to a student than listening to a lecture in history class. But this also depends on the student and the most effective learning style for them.
“In choir class, Mrs. Matson will play something and then when it’s time to sing, it’s just gone. We forget it,” NHS junior Lisa Enaye said.
The lesson here is for teachers and students alike, since anyone can suffer from a short attention span and find it hard to complete seemingly simple activities. If classes were mixed up and made more interesting for all learning styles, and if students made more of an effort to concentrate on the task in front of them, we may see an improvement in the future successes of this technology-obsessed generation.
Image Courtesy of The Kernel