The digital age

As a teacher in the age of digital everything, social media, and video games, I have found instructing students and holding their attention to be more and more challenging. Many students nowadays have the attention span of a gnat, and I blame the constant barrage of digital media and video games for this problem. In a world where students are almost constantly stimulated with visual images and auditory sources, anything that doesn't move at the speed of lightning will not hold their attention. I try to battle this by keeping my classroom activities moving quickly, but let's face it, I am no match for a blinking, flashy, noisy video game. Getting students to sit still and listen for only a few minutes has gotten to be virtually impossible. Students are asking (subconsciously) to be entertained 24/7. I'm a good teacher and I have interesting, engaging lessons, but it's not nearly enough to keep up with the digitally driven world these kids live in.

A few months ago I conducted an informal, impromptu experiment with my students. I posed this question to them, "Except for playing video games, what do you like to do with your free time?". The responses were shocking. Mostly I was met with blank stares, and genuine reactions of not being able to think of anything. A few kids said, "sleep", some kids said "watch TV", others said, "Watch Youtube videos", and yet others said, "play on my Smart Phone". Okay, I get it. Technically those things are not video games, but they all have something in common. They all involve electronics, and a screen of some sort. Not one child mentioned anything that involved playing outside, sports, or an activity that took place outside their home. Although this did not surprise me, it did make me incredibly sad. I knew the digital world was a problem, but I did not realize how all-encompassing it was.