DIGITAL DISTRACTIONS
Sabrina Lo Being distracted by non-school related content is certainly not an uncommon thing. With the combination of unenjoyable studying and the temptation of putting off work, it can be difficult not to give in to the digital distractions that are just within an arm’s reach. “On the one hand, I could be doing homework and writing essays. On the other hand, I could be watching a video or doing anything else that seems much more exciting on my phone that’s two feet
away from me,” Christos Makropoulos, a junior at Aragon High School, said. But why exactly is it so easy to succumb to such distractions? People are naturally eager to hear the ping of a notification, changing their habits in preparation to divert their attention. Attempting to ignore the notifications can lead someone to think they are being left out of something crucial to them, forming an urge to see what they are missing. Even if there is nothing waiting for them, people become accustomed to checking their phones regardless. “There’s this huge fear of missing out, and it’s a very real thing. There’s a fear of missing anything, even the most mundane things. It’s just like, ‘If I don’t have my phone, what if I miss a call?’” Michelle McKee, a psychology teacher at
Carlmont, said. The most common distractions include social media, web surfing, messages, emails, and video games. In a survey conducted on a small sample of Carlmont students, 28% of respondents said that digital distractions increased their homework time by 45 minutes. Though that may not seem like very much, 31% of the survey respondents answered that it takes about five hours to complete their daily homework. When considered in its context, the toll that distractions take becomes apparent. Without any digital distractions, an individual could significantly decrease their time spent on homework. 25% of the survey respondents believed that their online distractions constituted ¼ of their total homework time. “[Digital distractions] definitely prolong things for me. I was trying to work on a really easy assignment and it took me close to 45 minutes to complete because I kept stopping to look at my phone. It just makes everything a longer
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