A recent Pew Internet & American Life Project report surveyed
2,462 middle school and high school advanced placement and
national writing project teachers. It concluded that:
"Overwhelming majorities agree with the assertions that today's
digital technologies are creating an easily distracted
generation with short attention spans and today's students are
too 'plugged in' and need more time away from their digital
technologies."| Two-thirds of the respondents agree that today's
digital technologies do more to distract students than to help
them academically. Recently my research team observed 263 middle
school, high school and university students studying for a mere
15 minutes in their homes. Every minute we noted exactly what
they were doing, whether they were studying, if they were
texting or listening to music or watching television in the
background, and if they had a computer screen in front of them
and what websites were being visited. The results were startling
considering that the students knew we were