Studying is a process that requires a lot of concentration. Sometimes the learners need to spend hours focused on a certain activity, which is not easy when there are numerous distractions working against them. Among the most well-known distraction of the modern days there are friends, family, work, phone, computer and physical needs. These six kinds of distractions are able to create very unfavorable conditions for studying. Distractions are traditionally considered as negative phenomena, while they definitely contain some benefits for the learners. This paper is focused on the discussion of advantages and disadvantages of the most popular kinds of distractions for the students.
Advantages of Distractions
Regardless of the traditional belief that distractions produce only negative impacts on the learners, there are also a number of positive influences. For example, the individuals who study at different affiliations still remain active and fully-featured members of the society. As a result, being involved into interpersonal relationships and communication is not only normal but healthy. Becoming students, people enter a community of learners which is able to assist them with their education. Communication with peers and teachers (technically, a distraction) is a great way to improve one’s learning. Moreover, social isolation typical for e-learners is a big disadvantage it comes along with low motivation and lack of information (Advantages and Disadvantages of eLearning, n. d.).
Besides, distractions provide a vital stress-release means which is necessary for those who study hard. At times, a learner might find themselves stuck working on a certain assignment. In this case, the change of surroundings, a relaxing conversation, or just a movie or TV show session might revitalize the student and even provide new perspectives on their assignment.
Disadvantages of Distractions
First of all, distractions take the learners’ attention off their studies, which often causes delays with papers and assignments completion and bad grades. The severity of consequences of these happenings may vary from having to make-up for a missed class, to retaking an exam, and to getting suspended or expelled from the institution.
Often, the learners try to balance distraction and studying and end up multitasking. This is highly ineffective since a person repetitively switches from one task to another over short periods of time and, as a result, the quality of comprehension of both tasks suffers (Concentration & Distractions, 2015). While being slow while chatting with a friend is ok, accomplishing only a part of an assignment can be rather harmful.
One more disadvantage is the number and persistence of some distractions which occurs because studying is often a forced activity with complex material, while distractions are things we enjoy (Concentrating while studying, 2011). It is very difficult to fight distractions, but there are ways. They include switching off unimportant devices for a while, finding a quiet room where no one would bother the learner (Roell, 2015). In order to avoid distractions coming from physical needs, the students are recommended to sleep longer, drink plenty of water, and give up bad habits.
Conclusion
My main distractions are friends, phone, and computer. The last one is especially hard to manage because I work on my computer a lot. To manage my distractions I have a rule to have just the pages I need for learning open while I study. Overall, in my opinion, avoiding distractions is a matter of discipline and will-power, this skill needs to be developed through practice and repetition.
Reference List
Advantages and Disadvantages of eLearning. (n. d.). Iowa State University. Web.
Concentration & Distractions. (2015). OSU. Web.
Concentrating while studying. (2011). Study Guides and Strategies. Web.
Roell, K. (2015). Top 5 External Study Distractions. Web.