Students' Shrinking Attention Spans Make Long-Form Learning Content Unsustainable

Summary

Educators across disciplines report that students can no longer sit through long-form content such as feature-length films, assigned readings, or even key scenes, because of pervasive digital distractions and shortened attention spans. Professors at top film programs see students fidgeting, checking phones, streaming at double speed, or not watching assigned films at all; as many as 80% fail to finish assigned movies, and comprehension scores have collapsed. Existing institutional bans and reminders are ineffective, and no scalable solution exists to rebuild sustained attention for deep learning, leading to frustrated faculty, disengaged students, and a fundamental threat to the value of higher education.