Technology has developed at an incredibly fast pace, enabling several modern luxuries that seemed like nothing more than a pipe dream during the start of the 21st century. Everything from reading books to watching videos can be accomplished with a single device – an incredible convenience that most people take for granted.
However, this convenience is a double-edged sword – there’s a worldwide epidemic of screen addiction that has become a pressing concern in today’s day-and-age. Most children are receiving mobile devices at an early age, causing them to develop an unhealthy obsession with technology. Such an addiction can negatively impact the process of learning since students would prefer to browse their phone instead of focusing on their studies in any given situation.
Thus, to combat this problem, here are five things that you, as a student, should keep in mind.
Treat the internet as a luxury
Unmitigated access to the world wide web is one of the primary reasons why mobile devices have become so prominent – connecting to the world through the push of a button is special, but most people generally tend to take this luxury for granted.
A great way to understand the importance of the internet is to limit your usage of this service. Allotting certain hours during which you can check Facebook, browse Instagram, watch YouTube, and access whatever niche your interest lies in will help you view the internet as a luxurious commodity. Ultimately, this will also make the time you spend online more productive and decrease the reliance you might have on internet-enabled devices.
Make – and diligently follow – a timetable
The lack of a proper schedule is a significant reason why most students find their studying pattern to be haphazard and ineffective. Inadequate focus, multiple distractions, and a lack of clarity are just a few of the many problems that seep into a learning process that doesn’t have a clear-cut direction.
To ensure that you don’t fall into this trap of efficiency, it’s highly recommended to create a timetable and allocate time to different subjects, so that you have a process set in place that fosters a sense of efficiency when it comes to your education.
Seclude yourself from your phone while studying
The worst thing you can do to ruin your focus while studying is keeping your phone in front of you. There’s a reason why such devices are labelled as distractions, and keeping them at arm’s length definitely won’t help you enjoy an optimal learning experience.
So, to limit this access, it’s advised that you keep your phone in a secluded location during the learning process. Storing your phone in a hard-to-reach location or handing it over to your parents before studying is a great way to ensure greater efficiency across the board.
Use technology as an alternate channel for learning
It’s not like you need to stop using every digital device that you might be dependent on – after all, technology has enabled convenient access to numerous channels. So, instead of forcibly closing yourself off to these devices, it’s better to use them to access sites and browse content that provides information relevant to your studies.
There are numerous channels available online that provide information through various forms of content. Articles, blogs, listicles, videos, infographics, podcasts, audiobooks – the sheer volume of data available on the internet is massive, providing you with endless avenues to absorb information pertaining to the subject of your choice.
Embrace hobbies that aren’t technologically-driven
A major reason why mobiles and other such digital devices hold so much relevance in our lives is that a multitude of tasks can be accomplished on them with the greatest of ease. There’s little to no effort involved in performing something you like – a mentality that needs to be avoided.
Thus, with a bit of effort from your side, you can reduce this dependence by adopting hobbies that aren’t enabled by these devices. Playing sports, reading physical books, and doing something creative like writing or painting can help reduce your dependence on technology. This will ultimately improve your studying capacity since you won’t feel the need to browse your phone or open your laptop every time you find yourself slightly fatigued with the learning process.
In this digital age, our reliance on phones, laptops, and other such devices has reached an unhealthy level. It is interfering with our basic activities, including eating, sleeping, and – perhaps the most affected aspect of our life – studying. Students (such as yourself) who want to eliminate these technological distractions and focus on their studies would find it in their best interests to follow the tips mentioned above. This will allow you to focus on your studies without being distracted on a frequent basis, ultimately leading to the facilitation of an efficient learning process.