The internet is rife with distractions: from advertisements to the endless scroll of the explore page, there is no escape from the barrage of things to click, watch or buy. Smartphones, computers and game consoles have noticeably shrunk our attention spans. There are so many options for things to do digitally that it seems obvious why no one can focus; we’re drowning in entertainment.

Journalist Kim Mills interviewed psychologist Gloria Mark about the link between technology and shrinking attention spans. Mark notes that while in 2004, the average human attention span had a median of two and a half minutes, it’s now 47 seconds. She attributes this decline in focus to advancing technology and the time people now spend online. In 2024, it’s impossible to unplug. Entertainment, education and even employment are now overwhelmingly filtered through a digital lens.

Life has become increasingly reliant on phones and computers in the past few decades through the evolution of tech like GPS, text and online schooling. Not to mention social media — platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Youtube algorithmically align to user preferences, generating infinite photos and videos to scroll through. These platforms prioritize short-form content, defined as being under 10 minutes to read or watch. Intentional or not, short-form content can put people, especially students, into a periodic loop of procrastination.

I’ve personally noticed the negative impact short-form content has had on my own attention span: writing this article took me longer than expected because of how many times I paused to check my phone and got distracted. While short-form content isn’t inherently bad for you, it capitalizes on an instant dopamine rush. Even if it’s rewarding to finish a long-term project, it’s exciting to receive validation from short-term social media. As patterns of instant gratification repeat, pre-existing symptoms of depression and anxiety are often worsened by overuse of social media.

Even if it’s obvious the current relationship many people have with the internet isn’t healthy, it’s not realistic to be offline. Almost everything in the world has been digitized: movies, books and even food are available with the touch of a button. In the current model of internet use, it’s not possible to separate from these distractions, only limit our intake of them.  

While it’s easy to claim an addiction to internet use, it’s also an easy out. The problem does not lie with the internet itself but the underlying problems that cause overuse. Mental illnesses like depression and anxiety make it easier to spend a day online and harder to go outside. 

This dependence on distraction can link to the absent-mindedness not only in class but in one’s personal life.  It’s a bad sign that phrases like “bedrotting” and “doomscrolling” are now active parts of internet lexicon; as focus declines, the romanticization of chronic internet use downplays the underlying reasons for it.