The Hidden Cost of Endless Scrolling

By Ava Somerville

There was a moment where I realized I might be learning how to “get through school” more than I was actually learning.

It came from babysitting younger kids and noticing how differently they focused depending on what they were doing. One kid could sit through a whole movie, using his undivided attention and could play a full game of soccer without getting distracted. Another kid could barely sit through an episode of “Paw Patrol” and would constantly ask for my phone so that he could watch TikTok.

At first, I didn’t think much of it. I thought that was just how kids were these days because they’re growing up with social media. But over time, I started to notice that it was not just about age. It was about attention. What people are used to consuming shaped how they focus in every other part of life.

That started to change the way I saw school.

I used to think school was simple. Do the work, pass the class, move forward. But I’ve started noticing how often the goal becomes finishing something rather than actually understanding it. I noticed that I would rush through assignments just to get them done, even when I know I could’ve taken more time to really learn the material.

I also am in the middle of getting my license, so I have been researching the road and written tests. And, I have seen people online talk about how they used chatgpt for their written tests. This made me realize that our generation and future generations have a huge issue. Something that is mandatory to know for everyone else’s safety, is in jeopardy because people just want to “get done” with something.

Apps like TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts are built around speed. They’re designed to grab your attention instantly and move on before you even have the time to get bored. And they’re not random, they’re engineered. Algorithms learn what keeps you watching and keep feeding it back to you in an endless loop. It’s not just entertainment, it’s personalization designed to maximize how long you stay

I didn’t really understand that at first. I just knew I kept opening my phone without thinking and suddenly realizing 30 minutes had disappeared.

What’s more interesting is how it changes your expectations without you noticing. You start to expect constant stimulation. Silence feels awkward. Waiting feels uncomfortable.

Short form media is not inherently bad. It can be funny, creative and even informative. Sometimes it’s a way to connect with people or learn something quickly. But the issue is what happens when it becomes the default way we consume everything.

That made me think about the kids that I babysit and how early it can start. A lot of kids are growing up in an environment where attention is constantly being pulled in different directions with platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts. And if attention is something that develops over time, then it makes me wonder what kinds of focus were actually building for the future, and how their attention spans will evolve as they grow up.

What made me think more deeply about it is how common that mindset seems to be. A lot of students are not necessarily failing, they’re passing. But passing doesn’t always mean they’re retaining much or feeling confident in what they learned. It can become about meeting requirements instead of building understanding.

At the same time, I don’t think this is just a school problem. It feels tied to how fast everything is now. Short videos, constant scrolling and instant feedback. Everything is designed to be quick.

That’s why I think attention has become such a big part of learning, even if we don’t always talk about it that way.

This realization hasn’t made me feel negative about school, but it has made me more aware of it. I notice when I’m not really engaging, when I’m just trying to finish something, or when I’m choosing the fastest path instead of the most meaningful one.

I don’t think the answer is doing everything perfectly or being focused all the time. But I do think there’s value in noting the difference between moving through something and actually learning from it.

Because they are not the same thing.