Headline, July 17 2026/ STUDENTS : ''' ATTENTION CRISIS ATTENUATE '''

STUDENTS : 

''' ATTENTION CRISIS

 ATTENUATE '''

ESTEEMED PROFESSORS THE WORLD OVER report that students now have difficulty watching feature length films, let alone finishing books. But on !WOW! We have begun to get a real grip on this. 

ABOUT 2,000 YEARS AGO - THE Roman philosopher Seneca warned of a crisis of attention. The problem wasn't caused by smartphones or TikTok : it was because papyrus had become more widely available.

As a result, scrolls became plentifull and wealthy readers had access to more texts than ever before.

Seneca observed that the minds of those who read too many scrolls too quickly became restless and unsteady. This kind of minds was less able, he noted, to ''stay in one place and spend time with itself.''

The lesson then was no less true than it is now, in our perpetually distracted, screen-addled, multitasking age. When we allow ideas to come and go in rapid succession, we keep our minds too busy and wear them out. Nothing sticks, ''One who is everywhere is nowhere,'' Seneca cautioned.

Seneca did not have access to modern scientific studies or survey data, but he would not have been surprised by our plight. Professors now report that students now have difficulty watching feature length films, let alone finishing books.

On average, we check email 17 times a day, and often its not because of a notification - we interrupt ourselves. We're not even able to focus on our devices.

Two decades ago, a given task could hold our attention for two and a half minutes; research shows we make it only 47 seconds to one screen before succumbing to the itch to switch.

OUR society tends to view this as a technological problem that demands technological countermeasures : anti-distraction apps that act like digital warden and locks us out of our other apps.; plastic phone jails equipped with kitchen timers; $500 minimalist phones that have the revolutionary feature of having no features at all.

But we're over complicating a very old challenge that is more moral than digital. Seneca rightly saw distractions as a failure of character. We don't need another algorithm gadget to stop our minds from running around like unruly children, he would have argued. 

We need to relearn how to sit still with our own thoughts.

HOW exactly do you do this? Seneca had some practical advice, which he outlined in his '' Letters  From a Stoic '' : Devote your attention to one idea a day.

For the past 20 years, I have practiced a simple discipline inspired by this advice. First thing in the morning, I forage in a book for my one idea. Typically, it takes about three to four pages [ less than 10 minutes to find one ]. I'm not looking for a memorable quotation or aphorism; I'm looking for a passage that challenges or better illuminates how I see this world.

Recently, for example, I was struck by a tragic realization near the end of Tolstoy's novella '' The Death of Ivan Ilyich '' On the brink of death, Ivan cannot escape the feeling that life has passed him by.

And yet he had achieved all the ''right'' things - the good job, the nice house, the fancy friends. Its a sobering reminder that social standing and worldly goods are fleeting.

Friendship, love, a deep sense of purpose beyond oneself, a connection to the transcendent : These are what matter in the end.

The Honour and Serving of the Latest Global Operational Research on Students, Modern Crisis of Attention, continues. !WOW! thanks S. J. Murray, a Professor of Great Texts and Creative Writings at Baylor University.

With most respectful dedication to the Global Founder Framers of !WOW! - the exclusive and eternal ownership of every student in the world.

See You all prepare for the Great '' Constitutional Democratic Conventions '' on !WOW! - for every subject in the world : wssciw.blogspot.com and Twitter X !E-WOW! - The Ecosystem 2011 :

Good Night and God Bless

SAM Daily Times - The Voice Of The Voiceless