When one is trying to get their work done, they slowly find themselves losing focus. As soon as a notification pops up on their phone, they succumb to their tendencies and divert their focus to open the app. Before they know it, they find themselves scrolling on social media for hours and hours, getting no work done. Low attention span is a problem that a lot of people struggle with. People who have this problem struggle to stay focused, or spend a long period of time on a task before they need a break or get distracted.

Of all of the people who have low attention spans, teenage students tend to make up the majority. One of the main causes for this is social media, especially since teens spend so much time on their phones. Apps such as TikTok have an average of 10 to 60-second clips, which teens find addicting. Social media has shifted towards short clip content that has made the younger generation more accustomed to receiving information quickly, according to The Mirror. 

Many teenagers use TikTok as a quick form of entertainment when they feel bored, stressed or just want a break from everything else they have going on in their busy lives. Research shows that a teenager spends an average of four hours on TikTok per day, according to Gallup. As a result of prolonged time online, teens are likely to have limited attention spans, even as they grow older.  

Consumers are so accustomed to short-form media that when TikTok did a survey on its users, 50% admitted that when videos are longer than a minute it stresses them out, according to The Mirror.

A low attention span can affect people in many ways. Especially for students, many of them find themselves zoning out in class while their teacher is giving out instructions and once they snap back in reality they have no clue what to do.

 Along with the students, the teachers are also starting to feel an impact in their teaching experience due to the student’s lack of ability to focus and engage in their work. 

 “I think that in an English or literature class, it’s possible that having a shorter attention span might make it more challenging to read longer, more challenging texts and engage in the deep thinking necessary to identify and analyze evidence,” FHS English teacher Christina Brown said. 

To combat this, Brown tries to chunk the learning into more manageable sections in order to give the students time to process the information. This ensures that during the learning periods, they can actually focus. 

With people’s lives becoming more and more fast-paced, and with new social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram Reels popping up, people do not realize how their lifestyle is run in a way where everything is connected to a wire. 

 “I think students should take the time to read regularly,” Brown said. “They should take more time just to think freely and not spend every free moment consuming media.”