Of Note: The Value of Attention

Pay Attention, Kid: Has the use of digital technology impaired students’ ability to focus? by Daniel T. Willingham
Education Next, 25(4), September 9, 2025

Are smartphones destroying attention spans, or are they simply reshaping how young people think about rewards and motivation? In “Pay Attention, Kid!” cognitive psychologist Daniel T. Willingham examines the fear that digital technology has damaged students’ ability to focus. Reviewing existing research, he finds that while screen time is often correlated with shorter attention spans, the evidence is far from proving that phones directly damage the brain's ability to maintain attention. Instead, Willingham offers an alternative argument: constant digital stimulation may change how students have learned to value attention itself. Through two key mechanisms—delay discounting (favoring instant gratification over long-term rewards) and digital comparison (judging real-world tasks as “boring” compared to digital alternatives)—technology may, in fact, be shifting students’ motivational decision-making rather than damaging their neurological ability to focus. Willingham’s argument reframes the cell phone issue: phones aren’t just distractions to consider banning, but tools that may be reshaping how students think about the rewards of focus and effort. This novel framing calls on educators to design environments and routines that teach patience, deepen intrinsic motivation, and make focus feel rewarding again.

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