My topic is the effects of technology on attention spans. I have continued to find new sources and included google scholarly. Generally, I then will go find the articles in Forsyth Library if I’m not able to access the content via google scholarly. I find it just helps provide articles that seem to be quite newer. The results are fairly relevant, but of course there is plenty in there that wouldn’t be beneficial to my topic. Reading through the articles is definitely helping me get a better understanding of my topic and the way that studies are done. I would say I have reached full saturation for the most part as I’m not finding a whole lot of new articles. 

The articles below, however, are ones that I have found and saved in previous searches. With all the searches that we have done in previous weeks, I have tried to save a lot of the articles I found which is why I don’t have any databases listed. As they would be the same as previous searches I have listed in my blogs.

Bibliography Sources

Article: Myth and mystery of shrinking attention span

The article discusses shrinking attention span and if previous studies done on this are accurate. Supposedly over the years our attention spans have shrunk by a few seconds, but the sources don’t have any support articles. Along with this it does discuss that we are inundated with cell phones, television, and other technologies much more so than we have been in the past. Is our attention span being shorter really due to this or are we trying to multitask more than ever. 

This article was helpful to me as it raised some good questions and points. I would definitely use this as it gave me a new perspective and information that I would want to dig into deeper. I haven’t viewed shortened attention spans being affected by us trying to multitask more than ever, especially with all the devices that we interact with daily now. 

Subramanian, K. R. (2018). Myth and mystery of shrinking attention span. International Journal of Trend in Research and Development, 5(1).

Article: The Role of Attention in Learning in the Digital Age

Technology increasingly impacts on the ways in which people acquire, update, and correct their understanding. The emergence of mobile networked devices now means that information can be accessed anywhere, anytime with a connection to the Internet. Is this having an impact on our neurophysiology? I think this is a good article to use for my research paper. It does reference other studies that have been done and debunks them. It also discusses how studies are done, whether they were in an educational setting or not. That will be something I would need to pay attention to. 

Lodge, J. M., & Harrison, W. J. (2019). The Role of Attention in Learning in the Digital Age. The Yale journal of biology and medicine, 92(1), 21–28.

Article: Exploring the Impact of Internet Use on Memory and Attention Processes

The article discusses the influence of internet usage for cognitive processes in the individual and then considers how this also relates to population-level implications. With regards to effects on attention/concentration, a vast sum of research has shown strong links between excessive usage of the internet and IUDs and this is now beginning to be linked to attention-deficit hyperactivity disorders. This would be a good article for my research paper since it does go into a bit of detail how the internet could be traced to those with ADHD. This isn’t the main focus of the paper though. 

Firth, J. A., Torous, J., & Firth, J. (2020). Exploring the Impact of Internet Use on Memory and Attention Processes. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(24), 9481. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17249481

Article: Early TV viewing portends attention problems later

The article talks about young kids who watch a certain amount of TV each week are more likely to develop an attention disorder before the age of 7. The majority of the article is spent talking about how the study was conducted and any limitations around it. This article will be beneficial for my research paper. 

Macready, N. (2004). Early TV viewing portends attention problems later. Clinical Psychiatry News, 32(5), 49. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A118109901/PPPC?u=klnb_fhsuniv&sid=bookmark-PPPC&xid=8187b5ea

Article: Does the use of mobile phones affect human short-term memory or attention?

This article uses two experiments to test the effect of acute exposure to low-level radio frequency electromagnetic fields generated by mobile phones on short-term memory and attention. I found this article interesting because it takes on a new perspective on how technology could be affecting attention. Compared to another article that has the viewpoint it could be multi-tasking that is leading to shortened attention spans. I will more than likely be using this article in my paper. 

Cinel, C., Boldini, A., Fox, E., & Russo, R. (2008). Does the use of mobile phones affect human short-term memory or attention? Applied Cognitive Psychology, 22(8), 1113–1125. https://doi-org.ezproxy.fhsu.edu/10.1002/acp.1425