Technology Lowering Our Attention Span?

I would not have thought that using technology would lower people’s attention span. I was surprised to learn quite the opposite, after reading this article. Matt Richtel, the author of the New York Times article, wrote “teenagers ages 8 to 18 has grown so fast that they on average spend twice as much time with screens each year as they spend in school.” The amount of time this generation has spent staring at a screen, whether it be a cellphone, laptop, television, or video game screen, is absolutely astonishing. If I could count how many times I glance at my phone screen or see how much time I spend looking at social media, I would definitely see how spending so much time could have a negative impact. In the article, teachers themselves are saying that students’ attention span has been drastically reduced and that teachers have to work much harder to get their students attention. I’m surprised to see such a widespread negative effect from something so useful.