Teenagers today face a lot of challenges in the classroom, but one of the worst ones is a small attention span .
Phones can be a reason for a short attention span. According to Mrs. Christal, someone who has taught (“for over 7 years” in multiple countries), “New technology has caused a decrease in attention spans.” This makes a lot of sense. Constantly “doomscrolling” and being on your phone has affected teenagers in doing tasks that require thinking/doing something for an extended period of time. Since the 1990s, attention spans have shrunk significantly, which leaves you wondering what kind of effect phones had on that shrink.
Another factor that causes short attention spans is not getting enough sleep. “This wouldn’t be as much of an issue if students didn’t have to get up so early in the morning,” says Ms. Christal. According to the National Institute Of Health, “Early school start times impede students ability to get efficient sleep.” In a Sophomore class, 10 out of 17 students claimed to regularly go to sleep after midnight. This can definitely affect teenagers’ attention span because the majority of them get up very early in the morning and don’t go to sleep until 12am. This also ties back into cellphone usage. 9 out of 10 of those students admitted that a key reason for staying up was being on their phone. It has been proven that “blue light inhibits sleep.”
According to the NIOH, 9% of teenagers have been diagnosed with some form of medical condition affecting attention span. There has been a significant rise in Psychosocial disorders in the past 15 years, leaving a lot of different people with an inability to focus. Particularly young people are affected. Mrs Torres, a high school counselor says, “ADHD can definitely affect a students experience and attention span.” This significant rise can be caused by a variety of things including social media, poor lifestyle, trauma, stress and so much more. Acknowledging this is important because it gives you a better understanding of what someone may be going through everyday.
