Students can't resist distraction for two minutes ... and neither can you

Nah I would take those studies with a grain of salt. Not to mention that these studies focus on negative aspects of computing.
Let's put it that way.... Today's kids playing iphone games are tomorrow's doctors using robotic surgery.
I have been in a gyn surgical room and i can tell you 9/10 times it was done via miniature instruments and the doctor's staring directly into a TV feed. So my believe on gadgets is that kids getting used to them early on will give them advantage in the future which will be electronically much more complex than what it is right now. And who knows maybe few years from now we won't even have surgeons in the rooms but behind computers.
That of course doesn't give an excuse about discipline. Unfortunately in today's world parents too often like to blame someone or something else for their kids misbehaving. There can be a time to play outside and time for a computer. And of course there can be time for distractions and a quiet study time.
Personally when I study 10-11 hours a day, I keep my phone off and computer off. But to this learned behavior I again thank my parents.

 

Seems like all Wilders Security members are too distracted to read this thread..

 

I know a family where it takes 3rd grade kids nearly 2 hours to do homework because they're bouncing back and forth between dinner, dumb twitch games, and the homework itself.

Seems the ability to concentrate on one task doesn't exist. Any structured activity is impossible and the kids are too lazy to do anything for themselves.

 

Again, proper parenting and giving structure to the kids will prevent any of that from happening.
I am gearing towards the end of my education but I can tell you that starting tomorrow for the next 2 weeks my phone and my computer will be off between 8am and 5pm. Really, not that hard to do.

 

Damn, i need to change my habits.

 

Ehh.. their parents text and email because its too distracting and time consuming to meet in the same room of the house.

 

Interesting, but I would disagree with two points:

11 minutes of work is not necessarily a good or a bad thing. There's no proof working for five hours straight on something, then switching is more effective or yields higher quality results. Furthermore, what is a disruption really. If you work on a book, for example, checking a dictionary phrase in a browser is a disruption or no? Taking a cup of coffee after a paragraph, yes or no?

The other is, I think the pool is way, way too small to conclude anything. It needs to be tested across many geo-locations, many cultures, over many years, education levels, income levels, and then follow up on relative success in life 1, 2, 5, 10 years down the road in several core disciplines/areas, to see if there's any real trend.

Mrk

 

Anything can be a distraction. The key here is to know how to multi-task with discipline and when/where to prioritize. For some people, the "distraction" can be of positive value. Giving time to oneself and breaking the workflow may help to ease the stress and reduce the boredom out of study/work.

Obviously, not all of us are the same and there's no such thing as 1 study/working method that fits everyone. By all means, if a gadget is causing more problems than it's worth, don't be in near proximity with it when you need to be doing your work. Just don't the assume the problem is universal.

 

You hit a jackpot. I know someone who is also in a higher education and she studies quiet well with facebook opened on her laptop and phone going off every 20 minutes.

 

Maybe these tests only prove we have outdated teaching methods?

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/finlands-education-system-best-in-world-2012-11?op=1#ixzz2U2rFyViA

 

Is that what modern employers highly prize in their employees? The ability to multi-task. Those kids are ahead in the game.

 

Don't be amazed. Kids are more often than not ahead of adults. Their minds are at the peak and have the ability to grasp things faster.

 

From that link, I got this:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-20498356

Singapore's fifth on the ranking. I think they've gotten that wrong. It should have been lower. Our education system, while brilliant, focuses too much on academics. Not everyone in my country shares the same sentiments but I'm sick of it.

 

I suppose a distraction would be something that causes a major shift in mental gears. Like preparing a scientific doctoral and then answering an email about renewing your pr0n subscription.

Can be good or bad. Good if you initiate it. Bad if you have to handle it on someone else's terms.

Also fitting in here would be this gear shifting happening too often.