Technological advancement has drastically changed our daily life. The world is speeding up, and the information search and communication pace is incredibly fast, allowing humanity to progress. It is in people’s nature to try to find the easiest way to achieve a goal, so electronics and gadgets have become a solution to various problems and, of course, a source of entertainment. However, the constant use of electronics has recently shown its downside. If people who belong to the millennial generation witnessed the gradual development of gadgets, children born after 2000 were immersed in virtual life almost from the day they were born. Full integration of gadgets into their daily lives undoubtedly affects their academic performance at school, college, and university. Electronics are making students lazier due to creating an addiction, shortening attention span, and increasing procrastination.
Gadgets addiction is a common problem among today’s students. Electronics is a source of short-term entertainment, such as games and social media. It is proven that if the child is using gadgets as entertainment for an extended period, it affects dopamine production. The increased amount of hormones ‘disrupts the cortex’s prefrontal function, controlling emotions, self-control, responsibility, and decision-making (Setianingsih and Khayati 191). The constant electronics use tends to make children less responsible, leading to academic performance failures (Agung et al. 288). In addition to affecting academic performance, gadget addiction also negatively impacts social interaction. Children addicted to gadget show lower emotional intelligence and reluctance to communicate with peers (Agung et al. 280). As a result, students do not fully participate in the education process. Overall, gadget addiction is one of the most concerning ones among younger generations.
Another outcome of electronics use is a decreased attention span. The amount of information that people receive on a daily basis is vast, but its volume is minimal. Audio, images, and short messages are preferred over coherent text as a way of communicating. Various information sources in media constantly fight for attention, attracting users with simplicity. Therefore, students are used to constant stimuli that do not require a long attention span, which makes them unable to focus on regular schoolwork. It got worse with the recent COVID-19 pandemic when the educational process became more independent and more difficult to track (Garcia et al. 1198). If under supervision, students can put their focus to work; during online studies, it becomes a challenge to pay attention to studying material. Therefore, a short attention span appears to be a significant obstacle to the student’s path.
Procrastination is another problem that is widespread among students. Electronics use aggravates the issue, contributing to students’ escapism. During the COVID-19 pandemic, procrastination was common during online assignments when no supervision was provided. Gadget addiction has a positive correlation with procrastination (27%); meanwhile, social media dependence influences procrastination even more (54%) (Susilawati 6). Academic procrastination is problematic not only by itself but is usually coupled with multitasking when students try to combine studying and entertainment. This combination leads to frequent distractions, possible mistakes, and overall unsatisfactory academic results.
To sum up, electronics do make students lazier. It negatively affects their academic performance, the reasons being: addiction to gadgets, short attention span, and procrastination tendencies. These problems should be addressed because of their prevalence in modern education. Future research is needed to understand how to deal with the problem in the current world.
Works Cited
Agung, Iskandar, et al. “The Effect of the Use of Gadget on Psychosocial, Socio- Emotional, Self-Reliance, Responsibility, and Students Learning Results in Elementary School.” Education Quarterly Reviews, vol. 2, no. 2, 2019, pp. 276-291,
Garcia, Maria Isabel, et al. “The Influence of Gadget Dependency on the Academic Procrastination Levels of Grade 12 STEM Students.” International Journal of Multidisciplinary: Applied Business and Education Research, vol. 3, no. 6, 2022, pp. 1197–1210.
Setianingsih, Ardani, A.W. and Khayati, F.N. “The Impact of Using Gadgets on Preschool Children Can Increase Risk of Attention and Hyperactivity Concentration Disorders”, GASTER Journal, vol. 16, no. 2, 2018, pp. 191-205.
Susilawati, E. “The Influence of Gadget towards Information Technology Addict and Procrastination Behaviour.” IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, vol. 662, 2019, pp. 1-7.