I recently kept track of where I focused my attention on a typical Tuesday, as represented in the above graph. After analyzing my notes, I was able to determine that on a work day, there are typically three other categories that will distract me from the task at hand: people, technology (meaning other technology, primarily my phone), physical needs (physical discomfort, hunger, bodily needs). For the purpose of graphing, I also added an additional category “other extraneous” where I could put any other little random distractions. However, this Tuesday was a pretty productive day for me, but the reality is that I am considerably more focused when I am at work compared to when I am on my own time. I probably should have recorded and analyzed a Saturday.
On my own time, I find myself to be highly distracted by technology in particular. de Castell and Jenson (2004) describe how “a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention”, and I can feel this to my core. As someone who likes to learn and be informed, I find it easy to let technology take me down a rabbit hole. However, when you start to realize that your time and attention is a commodity that other people and corporations are vying for in the digital realm (Citton, 2017), it immediately makes me want to be more conscious of where I direct my attention and who is allowed to distract me.
Citton (2017) describes the importance of creating environments where individuals can learn to manage and focus their own attention on both individual and societal needs without constantly being drawn into the media “abyss” where our attention largely benefits corporate interests (p. 193-4). Thus, it begs the question of whether or not K-12 schools adequately prepare students for how to manage their time and attention. When the structure of school creates an environment that predominantly tells students when and where to focus their attention regardless of interest or not, they are not learning the value of their attention and how to allocate it appropriately.
De Castell and Jenson (2004) indicate that schools are really good at teaching students how to wait. Thus, it is not surprising that students will find other ways to occupy their time and allow themselves to become distracted. An amount of personal agency is required in learning to make decisions, including where to direct our attention, but classroom management strategies typically focus on ways to “force” students into paying attention rather than finding ways to teach students in ways that allow them to choose to focus their attention in productive ways. All one has to do is spend a bit of time on TikTok to realize that a growing number of young adults are beginning to wonder if they have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), but at what point does this become a symptom of a larger problem of the environments and society we are currently required to conform to?
References
Citton, Y. (2017). The Ecology of Attention. John Wiley & Sons.
de Castell, S. & Jenson, J. (2004). Paying attention to attention: New economies for learning. Educational Theory, 54 (4): 381 – 397.