As the years go by, each generation is slowly gaining more and more access to nearly everything. This amazing opportunity for our species also brings with it some disadvantages, including shorter and shorter attention spans.
The Good & Bad of Technology
It may seem subtle at first, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to hold and keep people’s attention. Most people contribute it to the Internet and it’s fast and vast wealth of instant information. There may be other forms of short attention spans, but this is definitely the biggest contributing factor. People can find and look at anything basically whenever they want, and then quickly switch gears to the next thought or task on their list.
This constant access to information can gradually lower your attention span to the world around you, and even friends and family. Being able to learn and gain information quickly is essential in today’s world, and shouldn’t be necessarily negated, but being aware can make a big difference, especially with your children.
How It Affects Kids
Although adults can be just as guilty of short attention spans, this usually affects children much more than older adults introduced to the Internet. But when children are born into the world of technology, they can gain this sense of instant gratification very easily, and hyper-focus on just what they want to see and do online. This can cause poor attention spans, and children who are highly combative when asked to do something that isn’t related to their main focus. Having cell phones at an early age can help exacerbate this issue, giving kids freedom to search the Internet and focus on what they want, but they can also quickly change pages or search for something else that’s faster or supplies more information.
How to Combat
Some easy ways to help refocus your children’s attention spans involve the use of their tech, whether it’s a tablet, cell phone, computer, and more. Limiting how much time they spend in front of a screen, accessing just what they want all the time, can help bring them back to what’s happening around them and keep them centered. Make sure to get them involved in what’s going on at home, picking some activities they can do to help out around the house or simply for fun. Cook a meal once a week with the help of your child, so they can be more hands-on. Have them take out the trash or help with laundry to keep them focused on certain tasks, even if they may be short. If you have multiple kids at home, have them all watch TV together, and have to make the choices of what to watch, instead of going their separate ways with separate devices. It may be a hassle at first, but it can help give your children a chance to see that they have to compromise in life.
Katie Kyzivat