Does the media we're consuming affect our learning abilities?
#discuss#learning#productivity
Rasheed K Mozaffar

Rasheed K Mozaffar @rasheedmozaffar

About: Hello! I'm Rasheed, a .NET enthusiast who's constantly looking for new things to learn and forget, that's why I started writing in the first place, but I love writing tho :-)

Joined:
Jul 16, 2022

Does the media we're consuming affect our learning abilities?

Publish Date: Feb 22 '24
11 5

During these times, the main type of media we're heavily consuming and obsessing over is short videos, which is highly stimulating, and it's basically everywhere, from YouTube to TikTok to Instagram, we're literally surrounded!

So after getting used to this type of content, do you think it's become harder to pay solid attention for things that are significantly less stimulating or plain boring in other words, like reading technical books, blog posts, language documentation or even long-form YouTube tutorials? Is this form of media ACTUALLy affecting our learning outcomes and making it more challenging to sit and have a concentrated studying/working session with undivided attention?

Comments 5 total

  • val von vorn
    val von vornFeb 23, 2024

    Yes, I think it does. We could be more intelligent, but what's the point when there are calculators, search engines, and chat bots?

    • Rasheed K Mozaffar
      Rasheed K MozaffarFeb 23, 2024

      Your point is correct and I agree with it, but what I'm saying is, when it comes to learning from the main sources, like in software development, the most viable resources are courses, books, and documentation, and because we're now very accustomed to the short-form content, it's becoming fairly hard to get the most out of the resources we have, like for me personally, I open an article or a book, read for 10-15 minutes then get extremely bored and simply lose my focus, so what's your take on this?

  • Mr. Linxed
    Mr. LinxedFeb 23, 2024

    To answer your question: Yes, short-form media affects and changes our ability to learn.

    You can learn from short-form content, but it will never be as in-depth as longer forms of content. So you'll know stuff but not as well.

    If you develop the skill of staying focused for longer periods on the "boring" stuff, I think it'll benefit you in a lot of parts of your life. Not just when it comes to learning.

    • Rasheed K Mozaffar
      Rasheed K MozaffarFeb 23, 2024

      Good point
      I guess short form content can be informative and IMO time saving as well, but I suppose the problem is in the nature of how we consume this type of media.

      For example, when reading a book, watching a lecture or a course, you give your brain time to dissect and process information in more depth, but with short-form content, you could be watching something informative one minute, and then straight afterwards you're watching funny, entertaining or other type of content, basically there's no delay or a break in between to thoroughly digest the new information.

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