{"id":20741,"date":"2025-05-02T17:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-03T00:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/?p=20741"},"modified":"2025-05-02T18:55:06","modified_gmt":"2025-05-03T01:55:06","slug":"attention-spans-in-the-age-of-technology-and-how-to-develop-grit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/2025\/05\/02\/attention-spans-in-the-age-of-technology-and-how-to-develop-grit\/","title":{"rendered":"Attention Spans in the Age of Technology and How to Develop ‘Grit”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Cuahutemoc Solorzano<\/em>, Student<\/em>, SJBHS<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this world of modern technology and constant distractions, focusing on a single task is difficult, but there are ways to create a healthy attention span.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Attention span, or \u201cgrit\u201d as it is sometimes referred, is the amount of time a person can spend focusing on a task without becoming distracted. Grit is a vital ability for an individual to manage responsibilities and achieve goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within the past two decades, attention spans have started shrinking \u2013 drastically. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Ruben Solorza, St. John Bosco\u2019s AP Psychology teacher, notes that modern phones and media have contributed greatly to the ever-shrinking attention spans within individuals. In particular, younger individuals and students are most affected by technology. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere has been a very rapid [decrease] of focus [in students]. It ties back to them wanting to be with their phone. They want to look at their phone; they want to go on Instagram,\u201d Mr. Solorza said. \u201cBasically, everything [else] is seen as a barrier to get to the phone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Media has a profound impact on the attention span of the modern individual because it \u2013 the phone \u2013 provides whatever the individual desires, according to Mr. Solorza. If the user doesn\u2019t enjoy what they\u2019re viewing, then they have the option to find something else to stimulate them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Individuals are provided with unlimited choices, thus they \u2018click\u2019 away from anything not stimulating. The ability to fix a short attention span does exist, though it requires discipline and care. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Solorza said that short attention spans can be fixed by learning how to be bored and separated from technology. Individuals must learn to discipline themselves instead of letting others discipline them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being bored whilst doing something strengthens an individual\u2019s grit because they\u2019re still paying attention to a task despite not being stimulated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Individuals should care about fixing their attention span, subsequently developing grit, for their academic future. Grit is extremely important for students headed toward college due to their sudden gain of independence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you have a lecture in college, you have to be able to sit for longer than ten minutes without getting up or going to do something,\u201d Mr. Brian Miller, a science instructor at Bosco, said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bosco\u2019s teachers have implemented ways to work around the phone \u2013 by imitating it. Like smart phones themselves, teachers have begun to provide more choices to students. Mr. Miller provides videos as well as different types of projects and assignments so that he can cater to different learning styles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The vast majority of younger individuals were born with technology readily accessible, which ultimately cultivates their addiction to the phone and reduces their grit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But a different approach of introducing technology to children may change their desire to use a phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Hungary, they teach their children how to appropriately drink alcohol. This eliminates a large desire to drink alcohol because it stops becoming a taboo and, rather, becomes the norm to manage it or not drink at all, according to Mr. Miller. This same practice could be implemented for technology \u2013 particularly with phones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moderation is key for a stable life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not all individuals born in the age of technology are addicted, and some have healthy attention spans. Many students at Bosco are able to focus for long periods of time whilst ignoring distractions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bosco junior William Pearce, a member of the school\u2019s Executive Board, is able to study for hours on end because he knows how his phone will affect him if he uses it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf I\u2019m studying for a really big test and I studied for like two hours straight, I know that if I go on my phone I\u2019m going to be on it for way too long. So I\u2019ll pick up my guitar and I\u2019ll play a song,\u201d William said. \u201cSometimes, I\u2019ll open up my [DJ] deck and I\u2019ll mix for 15 minutes, and then [when] I get bored or when I mess up, [I\u2019ll] go back to my work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maintaining a certain level of grit is difficult for any individual with a phone, but it ultimately comes down to what an individual values. If they value their academics, then they\u2019ll prioritize learning and studying, subsequently learning grit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think if you\u2019ve grown up valuing school, then it\u2019s a lot easier. My whole family has been centered around school.\u2029I\u2019m the youngest of four, so I\u2019ve seen [my siblings] academically successful. I [can] see why they value it so much and why they\u2019re where they are now,\u201d William said. \u201c So now I\u2019m the one that\u2019s like, \u2018Okay, I have to value it as much as they did to get where they are.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other ways to maintain a level of focus are to gradually decrease the amount of time between studying and breaks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think something that would help a lot is offering \u2018brain-breaks\u2019 so that students would have the opportunity to relax for a minute and regain their focus,\u201d said Isabelle Prata, a senior at St. Joseph\u2019s High School.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Isabelle, or Izzy, has to maintain a level of grit to manage being a part of a variety of extracurriculars: Drama Club, Vitality League (a club that helps organize SJ\u2019s school-wide blood drives) and an active participant in theater. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another method she and many other students enjoy is listening to music while working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve noticed that playing music with noise cancelling headphones has helped me a lot when it comes to staying focused on my work,\u201d said Izzy. \u201cAny music that I like works for me. I just put on one of my playlists and get to work. It lets me tune out auditory distractions while still having some sort of auditive stimulation so I\u2019m not working in complete silence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A decrease in attention span has become apparent in this fast-paced media centered world. It\u2019s impractical to not have a phone, but with it comes unlimited interruptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA lot of time I notice people starting to talk in class or pick up their phones when lectures get lengthy, and I am no exception to this,\u201d Izzy said. \u201cI just noticed that I start getting distracted and all of a sudden I\u2019m twelve TikToks deep on my phone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maintaining grit isn\u2019t easily attainable in this era of distractions but is feasible, as shown by these students. If you\u2019re struggling with focus try to create some distance from the phone, study in intervals or find an environment that isn\u2019t distracting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cuahutemoc Solorzano is a student writer for The Brave News at St. John Bosco High School, Bellflower, Californi<\/em>a<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo Credit: Dominic Wojtecki, Photo Editor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Cuahutemoc Solorzano, Student, SJBHS In this world of modern technology and constant distractions, focusing on a single task is difficult, but there are ways to create a healthy attention span. Attention span, or \u201cgrit\u201d as it is sometimes referred, is the amount of time a person can spend focusing on a task without becoming distracted. Grit is a vital ability for an individual to … Continuar leyendo Attention Spans in the Age of Technology and How to Develop ‘Grit”<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":10336596,"featured_media":20746,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20310044,678324057],"tags":[35890],"class_list":["post-20741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-province-news","category-province-schools","tag-featured"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/salesianbulletin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/img_1986.jpeg.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p59ePG-5ox","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10336596"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20741"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20741\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20837,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20741\/revisions\/20837"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20746"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}