ERIC Number: EJ1306742
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1743-9884
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
'From a Small Click to an Entire Action': Exploring Students' Anti-Distraction Strategies
Learning, Media and Technology, v46 n3 p355-365 2021
Studies show that students often use digital devices for off-task purposes, but little is known about the psychological dynamics involved in this activity. The present article therefore offers a phenomenological study of how students experience and cope with digital distraction. Drawing on qualitative interviews, it is demonstrated that one of the major challenges with digital distraction is that it often occurs habitually: Students often 'find' or 'catch' themselves being distracted. To cope with this lag between initiating and becoming aware of distraction, they set up stumbling blocks that prevent distraction from unfolding on this prereflective level. Closing the laptop, for instance, transforms distraction from being a 'small click' that occurs habitually to becoming an 'entire action' that requires active decision-making. Sometimes, students employ digital tools that block the possibility of distraction altogether. These findings suggest that self-control is a matter of intelligently restructuring one's surroundings to avoid succumbing to temptation.
Descriptors: Attention Control, Learning Strategies, Handheld Devices, Coping, Habit Formation, Foreign Countries, Secondary School Students, Student Behavior, Self Control
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Denmark
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A