Is Technology Shrinking Teens’ Attention Span? How to Overcome It?
It is so surprising to see how kids can look at their smartphone screens for so long without looking around. They don’t even care what is happening around them. No food, no communication, no social interactions, and they are perfectly fine. How does that happen? How do they become so addicted? Well, we all know how but can we do anything about it? It is time that we take some necessary steps. below in this article, we will cover the Is Technology Shrinking Teens Attention Span? How to Overcome It?
If you see closely, they will be found scrolling, changing web pages, or playing one game after another on their smartphones. They can’t keep up with doing one thing for long. But since they have a lot of things in their smartphones, they can stick to it doing multiple tasks. The best parental control solutions are required to make them grow better.
We all know how dangerous technology is, but have you seen how it is shortening our kids’ attention span? Parents have been complaining about how their kids can’t focus on the task for a long time. They are easily bored now and want something new every minute. Well, thanks to technology as there are a lot of distractions available now.
A survey was conducted by The Pew Research Centre in America. Almost 2500 teachers were involved in the survey and it was found that 77% thought that the internet had a “mostly positive” influence on the students’ research work, while 87% shared that they feel that modern technologies are just making ‘easily distracted generations with short attention span’.
As a parent, you might have also felt how difficult it is for you to focus on anything while looking at a smartphone screen. So, think about how difficult it would be for the kids. Although, it is a point of worry for the parents, still, there are a few practices that can save your child’s attention span.
Here is what you can do.
1. Make The Other Tasks Interesting
Nothing can be achieved without a bit of struggle. As we know, you will give more attention to a task that seems interesting than the boring one. The same is the case with kids. They want fun in everything. This is the reason why kids can play Legos for 30 minutes that but it kills them if they are asked to sit still and write their names on paper.
If you add some creativity in daily simpler tasks, it will help a lot. For instance, instead of forcing them to write something on their books, ask them to write the same thing on a whiteboard, or with alphabetical blocks, or Play-Doh. You can also teach them math by using building blocks and stuff. You can add spice and fun into their activities by making them creative and fun.
Also, make sure that you appoint them tasks with considerable breaks among them. If you burden them up with one task another, they will lose interest.
2. Watch What They Eat
Hunger is one of the main distractions which don’t let your kid concentrate on a single task. To combat this distraction, make sure they eat well. Once their tummies are full and satisfied, they will focus on what they are doing.
Start their day with a nutritious diet that is rich in carbohydrates and protein. Also, give them in-between meals snacks and stuff to keep them going throughout the day. The healthier they eat; the more active they will be. Their strength comes from what they eat so you ought to take care of that.
3. Outdoor Games and Exercise Are Important
We easily ignore the importance of exercise and play for our kids. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), play can improve a kid’s social skills, cognition, attention span, and concentration. So, encourage them to play outside. Take them to tournaments to motivate them.
Most of the parents nowadays are okay with their kids playing games on the computer for hours. Whereas, it is very dangerous and unhealthy for the kid to get stick to technology only. Parents think that their kids are in front of them, which makes them safe. But, it is not enough.
4. Proper Sleep Can Increase Attention Span
If you have not gotten healthy and adequate sleep, you won’t be able to concentrate on anything you do that day. If this is the case with adults, then it is worse with kids. They can hardly concentrate on their tasks if they haven’t got enough sleep.
Good and profound sleep is known to be associated with a healthy mind and body development. Also, it is known to help in retaining information and increasing attention span. That’s why make sure that your child is getting enough sleep.
More importantly, your child should be sleeping on a high-quality mattress. If it’s not the case, you might want to consider changing the mattress to a new one. When buying a mattress, keep an eye on the seasonal sales like the mattress Memorial Day sale as you can get very good deals and purchase a quality mattress for your child for less.
5. Limited Screen Time
If you want to make them live a healthy life, you got to limit the time they spend on their smartphones and computers. If they are stuck with their digital devices all day, how can they make time and attention for something else? The technology is full of surprising and fun things that they can’t get enough of it.
They need to be taught that excess of everything is bad. You can use parental control apps to make sure their screen time is limited. Not only that, but these parental control apps also let you monitor their mobile usage and see their social media activities. So, if anything is wrong you will know.
But, first, you need to manage their screen time as it is affecting everything in their life. They don’t get enough sleep because they are occupied with their phones. They don’t concentrate on what you are saying because they are busy with their phones. How will they ever find time for anything else if you don’t teach them right now?
It is best to imply some basic parental controls at this moment and guide them to a better path. Reducing attention span is an alarming situation for all the parents as it affects their future as well. Protect your child today by having the necessary communication and doing the right thing. Happy Parenting!
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