Living+Faster+and+Concentration

//**Brian Berrodin and Janine Mosley**//
As a child not growing up in the digital nation, Janine did not master multitasking as quickly as children growing up today. It wasn't until she entered into college that she learned multi-tasking could be of some value to her. The cell phone was a novel item but definitely not something that was of tremendous importance until years later. It's amazing for her to watch her nieces play on a laptop, watch tv, and text at the same time. It is also interesting to try to engage in a serious conversation with them without being constantly interrupted by the buzz of a text or call. With the growth of the digital nation, there seems to have been a decline of attention span. Digital Nation talks about the necessity of different stimulation for students today. This can in part be attributed to the limited concentration in a fast lifestyle.

As for Brian, he feels like the he wasn't really affected by this distracted lifestyle until college. Almost everyday Brian comes home to his three roommates, which for the most part, are glued to their laptops already. It is only a matter of about twenty minutes until he, too, is participating in this daily activity. Brian thinks it's interesting how people can be just feet away from one another, but completely distracted by the virtual world in which they are immersed in.

**How has living faster impacted childrens ability to concentrate? What measures could be taken to increase focus using technology? What role do educators play in maintaining attention in the classroom? How will decreasing concentration effect the world at large? What are the social implications of the multi-taskers inability to properly manage time?**

**Keyword Search** Attention Span; concentration, multi-tasking, tasks, children, focus, lifestyle, speed, accuracy, digital, hand-held media, technology, generation y, youth, distraction

** Problems Focus and Change in a Brief-treatment Model ** This articles examines the assumption that the degree of concentration is directly related to change in task-centered social behaviors in the U.S.

**Distracted: The New News World and the Fate of Attention** The author offers opinions on time management, multi-tasking, and the subsequent lack of focus and its social implications. She also discusses the added stress created by fragmented time management and subsequent lack of focus and **//concentration//** is seen as a major social problem.

**Pop-up Theory: Distraction and Consumption in the age of meta-information** The author explores the cable television program Pop Up Video and how it seems to serve as a clear example of distraction in the digital nation.

Experiment and Survey We would gather approximately 150 children from across the US and see how they react to and perform various tasks. Also with the same children at a separate time ask them to complete a 20 question survey on their multi-tasking and ability to focus.

Blizinsky, M. J., & Reid, W. J. (1980). Problem focus and change in a brief-treatment model. //Social Work//, 88-93. Jackson, M. (2008). Distracted: The New News Worlds and the Fate of Attention. //Nieman Reports//, 26-27. Rutsky, R. (2002). Pop-up theory: distraction and consumption in the age of meta-information. //Journal of Visual Culture//, 279-294.