The Student VS the Machine

An epidemic of constant distraction and an insatiable fear of boredom racks the entire world that is always plugged into an infinite supply of content. But with infinite content comes infinite problems, especially for the youth.

The amount of information available at the tip of your fingers is unprecedented, extensive enough to make Charles Babbage, the inventor of the computer, roll over in his grave. With a single Google search, we have access to peer-reviewed articles on the world of medicine and a Quora post on Jojo Siwa’s controversial new song simultaneously.

The invention of short-form content has given many people an opportunity to create careers off comedic sketches, selling products, and other forms of creative entertainment. TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram shorts are designed to keep you swiping for as long as possible. This is not a new concept, and products have been doing this since antiquity.

However, this immense amount of content has consequences on the concentration and mental health of the youth. While discussed frequently, we still aren’t listening.

The average teenager has a screen time of 8 hours and 39 minutes per day while the daily average for adults is 5 minutes less at 8 hours and 34 minutes.

This factors into their overall education and the time they spend actually learning.

High school starts around 7:30 A.M. and lets out around 3:00 P.M. On top of this, many students are involved in school sports, meaning practices could go on as late as 5:00 P.M. The average student spends about 45 minutes on homework a day squeezing it in between scrolling, school, and sports.

So when do they get the time to use their phones? The answer is at school. Students use their phones during class to scroll on social media, texting friends, or playing games. While we are expecting students to learn and “close the COVID learning gap” they are instead playing imaginary sports games and watching random strangers get ready for their day.

There is no solution. Adults are spending only five fewer minutes a day on average so this problem isn’t exclusive to teenagers and those complaining the most should check their screen time as well.

In the digital age if you are not constantly plugged in, everything is going to move on without you, you will fall behind on the latest trend of how to dye the tips of your hair blue and, the most recent celebrity controversy over a ukulele apology video.