Is Internet Distraction A Good Thing Or A Bad Thing For Kids?

from the talk-to-some-kids dept

Thu, May 29th 2008 4:15am — Mike Masnick

It's pretty obvious by now that there are tons of distractions that can be found on the internet, and if you're not careful, you can certainly get dragged away from something more important. However, InternetNews.com has an article suggesting that because kids these days are growing up with so many internet distractions, they won't be able to accomplish nearly as much as older generations who had no such distractions and could concentrate on just doing stuff. In fact, the author writes: "We're not preparing kids for the future."

Now that strikes me as odd, because my thought was exactly the opposite. These distractions are there -- and since kids these days are growing up with such distractions, they're used to them and take it as a natural state of affairs. In other words, by getting them to think of continuous partial attention as the norm from a very young age, we absolutely are preparing them for the future. Of course, the real answer may lie somewhere in-between -- in that it may depend on just what people are trying to accomplish.

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: continuous partial attention, internet distraction, kids, multitasking

28 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

some old guy, 29 May 2008 @ 5:12am

So...
So... by putting adblock and noscript on my kids computers, I am somehow helping them with their concentration so they learn better, and simultaneously destroying their future cause they wont be used to ads, and will be distracted by them?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Greg, 29 May 2008 @ 5:15am

distracted...
I was distracted from work by this story....
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Ed Rooney, 29 May 2008 @ 5:44am
  
  Re: distracted...
  Amen. I work online and often find myself following stories of interest rather than work ...
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Will, 29 May 2008 @ 8:15am
  
  Re: distracted...
  I was also distracted from work...their plotting to take over the "older generation" with stories. It's working
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Jake, 29 May 2008 @ 8:52am
  
  Re: distracted...
  I was distracted from reading other digg stories by reading this. :)
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
mat552, 29 May 2008 @ 5:36am

just hold on
At some point, a new form of media will come out and all the controversy will move to that platform. When movies were new, they made kids violent. When tv was new it distracted kids from imporant things. While computers are "new" they cause both.
It'll pass
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 29 May 2008 @ 5:39am

Things work very differently now anyway, sitting at work I have phone, email, people passing my desk, text messages, IM communication etc etc, we need to learn to deal with all that and still get a task done. I think having distractions around at an early age will make you better set to deal with it all!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Crazy Coyote, 29 May 2008 @ 5:46am

When I went to school mini skirts were in style. Talk about distraction! Dealing with distractions is part of learning. Isn't that why we send kids to school?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
www.Ultimate-Anonymity.com, 29 May 2008 @ 5:47am

Kids & the Internet
I think tis fine as long as the time is LIMITED. If my teenage Son could, he would sit on the internet socializing day and night taking time off only to eat and use the restroom.

JJ
http://www.Ultimate-Anonymity.com
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 29 May 2008 @ 11:28am
  
  Re: Kids & the Internet
  Sir,
  
  He will take time off for one other thing also. You know.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Matt, 29 May 2008 @ 5:56am

control is not the issue, education is
The issue is making sure that the kids know how to handle situations that can come up (stalkers, etc) properly on the web. After that, unleashing them to discover their own creative potential will pay off huge.

My niece for example, we started her at 5 with chatrooms (the old allakhazam/etc ones with the smileys moving in different rooms), and she proceeded to become a very intelligent geeky girl...obsessed with the harry potter rooms, etc....but did she turn out smart, and still become herself? Hell yes.

People will be whoever they will be with or without the internet. That predisposition that your personality develops down a path because of how your life has gone will occur with or without the net.

I'm sure within the parenting, her parents watched the amount of time she was on but for the most part gave her free reign.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Vincent Clement, 29 May 2008 @ 6:04am

Kids have always had distractions. Record players. Radios. TV. Friends. Somehow, society has managed to achieve amazing things.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
www.custompcmax.com, 29 May 2008 @ 6:22am

There has always been something to distract each generation of kids and adults. While, I will admit that the internet does seem to be a never ending supply of distractions. I do think that working adults get a lot less done, when they have the internet on their work PC. Not everyone, but I think since the internet has been in offices, the overall work has gone down a bit.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
JJ, 29 May 2008 @ 6:41am

Kid and the internet
It's called multi-tasking... any kid who can pull off 5 IM chat windows while in 3 different IRC rooms, posting on a forum board, editing a wiki page, playing a video game, ripping a cd and downloading the new Indiana Jones movie SIMULTANEOUSLY will probably be the first person to push that old geezer working in your company into early retirement. You know the one, the old guy that keeps asking you how to print out each email he receives so he can read it... Not to metion this new 'super-kid-of-the-future' is the entire reason computer companies are making quad-core processors.
Also, I think that the fact that kids are growing up learning to do all of this in the background while still being able to think through long term problems / strategize / do homework / make important life decisions
is nothing short of amazing!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
HasDistractedKids, 29 May 2008 @ 6:52am

Yep, I'm here to say that IM, RPG, Social networking and youtube can distract kids. Sometimes a lot. But, other non-internet related stuff can distract kids as well. When homework gets long and boring, distractions distract. But, kids get past that as they get older. Sometimes Mom or Dad has to step in and redirect. Nothing new there. The internet isn't going away, so it's our job to make sure they interact with it responsibly, find their real passions and do them as much as possible. And, if the passion is RPG, so be it. My 13-year old son, on his own, just downloaded the MSFT C compiler, recompled source for an RPG, set up a server and a VPN so his friends could play a customized version. Now that's passion!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 29 May 2008 @ 7:25am
  
  Re:
  And a passion that has the potential to make big money in several 'casual' enviroments.
  
  The decompiling and recompiling I mean. No the playing of RPGs.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
PRMan, 29 May 2008 @ 7:53am

When I was a kid...
My mom took my computer away because I wasn't doing my homework. Now I write software for a living. I think if she knew then what I would end up doing, she would have taken my homework away instead.

The "distraction" became my career. And it will for many of these kids as well.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 29 May 2008 @ 7:56am

never ever changes
Show me one generation that thinks the next generation is more productive and more intelligent than the current.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
jezsik, 29 May 2008 @ 8:02am

Won't get as much done? Nonsense!
When kids are interesting in something, they can get more information instantly -- no need to waste hours of time researching paper-based media. I put it to you that they'll accomplish a lot more as a result of this "distraction" we call the internet.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Joe, 29 May 2008 @ 10:48am

distractions are the reality but....
the question now becomes - is the improved ability to multi-task at the expense of being able to focus on single projects for extended periods of time.

I think Mike is off on this one. While I don't agree with all items in Elgan's article, I think the general point that to grow beyond average, a person needs the ability to focus. I juggle tasks like everyone else, but when I need to produce - the door closes, email gets turned off and the phone comes off the hook (still waiting for the girlfriend mute button).

Kids today don't need lessons in multi-tasking. They get that from the ambient environment, they need training in how to better prioritize and filter inputs in order to focus.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Ryan, 29 May 2008 @ 5:04pm

I shoulllld be...
doing my homework right now, but this story distracted me. As previous posters pointed out, its our ability to mulitask that will give us an edge. I work at a retail store and at any given moment I am doing a million things, and I got a raise because of it. There are tons of distractions, but that doesnt change things.

I would be more worried about the inability of the young generation to work. Many are too spoiled to get off their butts to do anything anyways.

The son can only be better than the father if the son had a worse life. (not a better one)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Iron Chef, 29 May 2008 @ 6:50pm

Boomers, GenX and GenY
Tammy Erickson is hosting an enlightening discussion about this at Harvard Business Review. Check it out.

http://discussionleader.hbsp.com/erickson/2008/05/ten_reasons_why_the_relationsh.html
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
nattie, 1 Apr 2009 @ 1:52pm

Distractions Distract
Im researching this topic, and I already got distracted about 5 minutes ago by going on facebook. There are stuff on the internet that help me do my homework, and there's stuff that distract me as well. Yes, I need to be able multi-task to get somewhere in life, but I also need to have boundaries. I believe that the internet has pros and cons. It helps, but not all the time. Computers at schools should have internet safety filters, and should be powerful. Parents should put a limit on the time kids spend on the internet at home. That will cause kids to do there research on the internet and with the remaining time, they can do what they want. Adults... time has changed, and new things are being created, which results into change. Balance is what life is all about.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Bob Willy, 9 Dec 2015 @ 10:43am

The internet is not for people
When I first started using the net, I was one of those people who believed it would revolutionize connecting with people. Way before the net, I was an outgoing person, and had alot of friends.

But after reading nasty blogs written by maniacs, reading crazy talk inside Craigslist adds, I realized that the net is a place where bad people go to vent their anger.

The net really should be shut down. In terms of what it doesn't offer, people need to relearn the art of meeting people, becoming friends. Spending time with other people .

The net is not a substitute for the real world. Though I didn't form my ideas from the net, I believe that the net creates excessive alienation.

The internet is not a winner.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
The Technology, 9 Jan 2018 @ 7:10am

It is realy true
If kids are very distracted by internet what should we do?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 9 Jan 2018 @ 7:11am
  
  Re: It is realy true
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
angel, 24 Mar 2018 @ 7:24am

very useful for my daughter. thank you very much to whoever published it🙏👍👌👏
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
madhumitha, 24 Mar 2018 @ 7:26am

same as angel , very useful
[ link to this | view in chronology ]