We (Gen Z) are often referred to as “digital natives.” This term describes “people who have grown up under the ubiquitous influence of the internet and other modern information technologies,” as defined by Investopedia. Consequently, we are used to multitasking rather than focusing on one task, and we find it easier to get information through YouTube videos rather than through books.
The older generation says we are in trouble. Humans can only focus on 1-2 tasks at once, so even if we are doing several things – watching Netflix, texting friends, scrolling through Instagram Reels – that doesn’t mean that we are focusing on everything. We are just constantly switching our attention from one activity to another. Adults say we should practice concentrating on one thing at a time.
Watching videos is a passive way to learn. Our brains don’t require much effort to comprehend and accept the content as our knowledge. Adults say we have to read and actively acquire information by moving our eyeballs.
The collapse of focus and literacy has been a significant issue in our society, seemingly caused by digital technologies.
“Stolen Focus,” the book by Johann Hari, became a bestseller in Korea last year after the translation was completed. The book also hit America in 2022, and newspapers like the New York Times and the Washington Post participated in reviewing it.
According to the research Hari presented in the book, the average time for focusing on one task of U.S. teenagers is only 65 seconds. Office workers also have a 3-minute attention span on average, as shown in the study of Gloria Mark, a professor in the Department of Informatics at the University of California, Irvine.
This is not a story for someone else. I remember once I made a joke with friends: “Elementary school years were the best era for my concentration.” After giggling, I realized that it was not something to laugh about. This has been worse after the pandemic. Ever since I started taking classes online, interruptions to my focus were all around me. Just a few subtle clicks on the trackpad led me into the world of distractions.
Not only focus but literacy has also been stolen. Some countries are making audacious decisions to diminish the use of digital devices at schools. Sweden’s government emphasized the importance of paper books, reading, and writing practice and decided to discontinue digital education for children under 6 years old.
The New Zealand government proclaimed a prohibition on mobile devices while students are in school, and other countries such as Finland, France, Italy, and the Netherlands are also pushing ahead with similar policies. These countries have made the judgment that digital devices are interrupting students from enhancing their learning capabilities.
Korea is facing a similar issue with literacy. Communication between younger and older generations is becoming more challenging. Younger generations are less proficient with Sino-Korean words and may sometimes misunderstand what the adults say. They are more familiar with words they frequently read on phones and are masters at coining new words in the internet world, also known as slang. These two different types of language deepen the gap between generations.
*Sino-Korean words: Korean words of Chinese origin, distinct from pure Korean words.
We need long-term plans to confront these problems. I used to hand my phone to the teacher and would get it back after school throughout my entire school life, from elementary to high school. It was for encouraging students to focus on lectures. However, there were always classmates who brought a second phone in secret and played games or listened to music. It wasn’t an efficient way to motivate students to concentrate on studying.
Some professors ban their students from using ChatGPT while doing assignments, being concerned about the potential decrease in students’ thinking power and creativity. Banning the use of phones or ChatGPT – these kinds of policies might address immediate problems. If I were a parent, I might also choose not to give phones to my babies, perhaps not even introducing them to the existence of smartphones. However, these are merely short-sighted countermeasures.
Digital technologies are progressing at an unstoppable pace. Furthermore, big tech industries are developing devices with life-immersive technology. If the development proceeds successfully, we might one day find ourselves surrounded by the digital realm – even if it’s a distant future scenario. Then, shouldn’t we seek ways to establish helpful symbiotic relationships with the realm, rather than just avoiding devices and technologies?
Eventually, we should learn how to use media wisely. A qualified environment for digital education has to be provided so that young students don’t lose their focus and literacy while they live together with new technologies. It will take a while to foster healthy relationships with digital devices, and we are in a transition period. However, I believe that we will still be able to gradually adjust to the changes and find a middle ground with media.
Kyungmin Min is an international intern from Korea.
