US 18 year olds increasingly say they have trouble concentrating and learning new things
As you can see, that line was stable till 2013
What caused the sudden spike?
As you can see, that line was stable till 2013
What caused the sudden spike?
Comments
As a teacher l am amazed, gobsmacked even, students don't think they need to write a note, letter, fill in an application form with a pen 😫
Last year, a student. 18+ very bright burst into tears because the exam was to write an essay.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-human-brain-may-contain-as-much-as-a-spoons-worth-of-microplastics-new-research-suggests-180985995/
I think the venal way it has been exploited for profit, and the engagement algorithms behind that are what is doing the damage.
But again, it is down to the profit motive. If Zuck could be happy with hundreds of millions instead of tens of billions, Social Media could be made a safe and inclusive place.
It's psychopathic.
- 25% in high-income countries
- 35% in the US
My question: how do we reverse this trend?
Superb piece!! https://ft.com/content/a8016c64-63b7-458b-a371-e0e1c54a13fc
Public policy can impact this by making metric collection transparent via policies like GDPR, no-retaliation opt-out, and age verification req before processing.
A) Lowering barriers to entry (paid 50% time teaching mixed with studies from yr 2 on)
B) Making work/life balance easier by cutting classroom hours and paid grading time
D) Separate principal job into accounting/administration/budgeting and student/teacher/curriculum roles
Go back to the golden era of the afternoon whiskey and nights of unending pints in a haze of smoke.
My kids can read a traditional clock, but sometimes come out with weird things like “15 past” or even “40 past”.
“If Pac-Man had affected us as kids, we'd all be running around in dark rooms, munching pills and listening to repetitive electronic music”
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160289623000338?via%3Dihub