Educational Change to Help Humans Think and Connect
Creating space to grow in an age of digital overwhelm
Digital distraction at school
65% of students in OECD countries report being distracted by their own digital devices in class. A similar percentage (59%) also report being distracted by other students using devices.
We are all drowning in infinite waves of digital information and entertainment of varying quality, veracity and value. But the youngest among us are the most vulnerable to the tides. And the least well-equipped to deal with them.
This week, I’ve been leading a course for teachers on Managing Digital Distractions. The teachers were from Greece, Italy and Spain, and taught secondary and tertiary students languages, humanities and science.
Not surprisingly, we didn’t come up with a definitive answer for how to manage this challenge in a few days. But we did consider questions which provoked deep discussion and common themes.
How digitally distracted are we?
Extremely. There is no escape. It’s only a matter of degree. We are all distracted by the volume of information we carry around with us in our pockets and view on screens for hours every day.
But children and teens are in a worse situation than adults. They have grown up with unlimited digital options all around them. These have contributed to their learning, but also stolen their attention and displaced other opportunities for development.
In many cases children have digital access from an early age. Before their brains have developed physically, emotionally or socially. They sleep with their devices and feel separation anxiety when they are taken away.
Teenagers have always struggled to wake up or stay alert, but teachers now note more students are constantly tired and stressed due to lack of or poor quality sleep.
What is the impact?
The consequences are many and varied. But the teachers agreed that the most worrying was the loss of their students’ ability to think independently and make human connections.
People, especially the young and naive, tend to trust digital content. It looks convincing and appeals to emotions. It provides a wealth of information which feels like power.
But, now with ubiquitous data for all, information alone does not equate to power. Knowing which information is valuable and what to do with it with or for whom, is key. For that, we need critical thinking, creativity and social skills.
Over-reliance on devices is eroding all of these skills.
The effect on communication skills - reading, writing and even talking - is clear in the classroom. One teacher talked about students being unwilling or unable to read even short passages, silently or aloud. Their attention tends to stretch only to a few minutes, and focus mainly on visual stimuli.
Some children and teens consume so much information and entertainment that they no longer feel the need to speak. The teachers were concerned about some of their students who only look to their phones for advice, friendship and connection.
Can we resist the Attention Economy?
The Attention Economy is valuable. It generated an estimated $853 billion in global net advertising revenue in 2023. Some of the finest minds and most creative people have created products and services to capture our imaginations. Tellingly, they usually keep their own children away from them.
It is a huge challenge to resist temptation. But it is vital for our futures to do so. It starts with awareness. Followed by implementing strategies to focus on independent thinking and social connections.
How can we direct and control our attention?
With great difficulty and conscious effort. It is hard enough for adults who have had a device-free childhood. At least we have created neural connections in our brains based on human touch, face to face conversations, physical play and even boredom.
Many of us are at least aware of the problem. We can take conscious steps to build healthier habits and resist the new normal. We are all frogs in a pot of water coming to the boil, but adults have a greater chance of jumping out.
It is imperative to equip children with human skills before they even see a screen; communication, self-esteem, fine and gross motor skills, reading habits, creativity and critical thinking.
What can we do to help young minds develop?
By the time the teachers interact with the students, it’s almost too late. They need the understanding and cooperation of parents to be able to do their job well. The single most valuable thing we can do is to keep young eyes away from screens for the early years, and then restrict access until adolescence, when it becomes almost impossible to avoid.
I’m a parent myself, so I know how hard this can be. It has to be a conscious decision. And it costs a great deal. Not in money, but in time, attention and effort.
For many parents this is almost impossible. If you are busy, technology becomes a babysitter. Always available and endlessly entertaining. Keeping children quiet everywhere.
But beware the long-term consequences. They may stop speaking all together, and start looking at a screen for not only entertainment, but also learning, work, friendship and love.
Even if you succeed in keeping screens away from young eyes, it’s not enough. You have to model the behaviour you want to encourage. So, no scrolling on your phone in front of your child. No staring at a screen instead of attending to their needs. It's possible, but don’t underestimate the commitment and investment required to do it.
What kind of learning environment can help?
School can provide a break from screens, and opportunities to interact with teachers and peers face-to-face free of digital distractions, but it is a struggle.
Most of the schools we were talking about had bans on mobile phones in classes, though they relied on the students to comply voluntarily. Teachers mentioned the influence of online communication between classmates seeping into classroom dynamics. Tensions can be evident, even when the devices are temporarily absent.
In the face of such competition for attention, the classroom has to feel more human. To be warm, safe and supportive as well as a place of structure, organisation and high standards. It should focus on building independent thinking and providing opportunities to create relationships and work in teams.
School can help to fill the gaps left by a consumer society, the attention-grabbing economy and well-meaning but harried parents. But the scale of the challenge is enormous.
What sort of educational approach is needed?
Technology is part of education. There is no going back. The opportunities offered by digital connections are too great to ignore or shun. There was no argument there.
But the challenge is to balance digital and analogue, human and machine. To manage and curate information shrewdly. To select what is valuable and apply human skills to use it to great effect.
For this blend of digital and human genius we need people who are expert at directing their own and others’ attention. People who can define and enforce boundaries, engage in critical thinking, collaborate and create.
And we need to build these skills from an early age, offline.
We used to boast about providing every child with a computer. Raise funds to ensure students in poverty and in developing countries could get a screen of their own. Now, some schools are starting to turn away from that idea, towards focused use of technology. Because teachers have seen the damage unlimited access can cause.
What about cultural differences?
There are big differences in educational approaches, depending on both the country and the applicable curriculum. Some rely more heavily on memorising data than engaging with content. This is true especially in the final two years of high school, when external exams dominate.
Schools, states or countries may impose stricter or more lax rules around the use of technology and tolerance of personal devices.
But the web is worldwide. That’s part of its appeal. You can connect with anyone or any data anywhere, any time. The results can be amazing. But the risk is that we all consume the same content and express ourselves in a similar way. English is the dominant language - but it is becoming less rich as a homogenised, simplified version prevails online.
And all of the teachers recognised similar worrying trends.
What should our focus be now for the future?
People are losing themselves in technology. Many children have no chance to develop key human skills, while teens are unable to explore who they are or want to become.
Whatever the educational context, moving forward we need to focus on creating greater engagement. Activities such as discussion and debate, rather than rote learning or simple questions and answers.
Students need to grapple with subjects which are full of questions and grey areas like philosophy, art, politics and psychology. Working out what they think - both individually and via collaboration in teams - is vital for their developing minds, opinions, ideas and even selves.
Data can only take us so far. STEM subjects are not the only ones that count. Results should not just be measured in “correct” answers or amount of information retained. The value of education has always been a lot more nuanced and complex than that. It’s about what you can do with knowledge, how you employ imagination and engage others. Now more than ever.
I agree with your suggestion, 'It is imperative to equip children with human skills before they even see a screen.' I think part of the problem is not having hobbies, interests, and skills to fall back on. I leave my phone behind on Sundays when I'm going out with the husband or I leave it in mu bag. I believe it's because I know it's a distraction when I want to do something fun. But if a phone was all I knew, it'd not be the case. In a way, these kids are having a hard time.
A very profound subject. Interest you article as My next one deals with these impacts, even amongst adults.
The best results have been from schools that enforce smart phone restrictions. I am in favour of more. I fear that we will not do enough.
I’m not sure a hybrid (human and computer) approach, especially in younger students is right. I believe it is not.
One can always add technology later in their proper role as a tool of augmentation. Especially now there is just the slightest of learning curves.
As another colleague just pointed out - referring to Clark’s laws - it is the people with the least amount of digital literacy and AI knowledge that are AI’s biggest advocates.
Thanks for this article. I will refer to it in mine