Page 82 - Štemberger Tina, Čotar Konrad Sonja, Rutar Sonja, Žakelj Amalija. Ur. 2022. Oblikovanje inovativnih učnih okolij. Koper: Založba Univerze na Primorskem
P. 82
ko Rajović
Childhood chronic conditions, including attention deficit/hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD) have increased over the past few decades (Perrin, Bloom,
and Gortmaker 2010). A pilot study conducted in 2016 in Slovenia revealed
that school teachers evaluate children’s abilities as significantly lower than
those of previous generations of children, which, among others, include the
ability to focus one’s attention (Rajović et al. 2016). Those working with chil-
dren do not find these findings surprising, often claiming that issues regard-
ing attention are part of a general trend encountered with new generations
of children.
However, many experts warn that there has been a profound reorienta-
tion of human attention and that attention is undergoing a profound trans-
formation (Rogers 2014, 2). According to a research recently published by
Microsoft (2015), in the period between 2000 and 2013, the ability to pay
attention decreased from 12 to 8 seconds. This trend is tightly related to
an occurrence in modern society. Media content has changed and an in-
creased tempo of visual stimuli and complexity of plots became obvious
(Johnson 2005, 61–106). There is a phrase used in commercial media ad-
vertising called ‘Jolts per minute’ which the Centre for Media Literacy (see
http://www.medialit.org/reading-room/measuring-jolts-minute) defines as
follows:
‘Jolts per minute’ programming is often cited as a principle – almost a
first law – of commercial television. ‘Jolt’ refers to the moment of ex-
citement generated by a laugh, a violent act, a car chase, a quick film
cut – any fast-paced episode that lures the viewer into the program.
The number of jolts per minute is constantly increasing and some have
also started measuring the frequency of jolts in seconds. A decrease in the
time required for an audience to respond to an image is also observed. In
the 1960s, an audience needed about twenty seconds to recognise an image
and today this happens in several seconds (Hayles 2007).
Hayles (2007) denotes that this shift in cognitive styles that is in progress is
a generational shift from deep to hyper attention. In contrast to the deep at-
tention, the cognitive style which is characterised by concentrating on a sin-
gle object for long periods, hyper attention means switching focus rapidly
among different tasks, preferring multiple information streams, seeking a
high level of stimulation, and having a low tolerance for boredom (Hayles
2007). The benefits and shortcomings of those cognitive styles depend on
the context and the task at hand. As Hayles (2007) explains, hyper attention
82
Childhood chronic conditions, including attention deficit/hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD) have increased over the past few decades (Perrin, Bloom,
and Gortmaker 2010). A pilot study conducted in 2016 in Slovenia revealed
that school teachers evaluate children’s abilities as significantly lower than
those of previous generations of children, which, among others, include the
ability to focus one’s attention (Rajović et al. 2016). Those working with chil-
dren do not find these findings surprising, often claiming that issues regard-
ing attention are part of a general trend encountered with new generations
of children.
However, many experts warn that there has been a profound reorienta-
tion of human attention and that attention is undergoing a profound trans-
formation (Rogers 2014, 2). According to a research recently published by
Microsoft (2015), in the period between 2000 and 2013, the ability to pay
attention decreased from 12 to 8 seconds. This trend is tightly related to
an occurrence in modern society. Media content has changed and an in-
creased tempo of visual stimuli and complexity of plots became obvious
(Johnson 2005, 61–106). There is a phrase used in commercial media ad-
vertising called ‘Jolts per minute’ which the Centre for Media Literacy (see
http://www.medialit.org/reading-room/measuring-jolts-minute) defines as
follows:
‘Jolts per minute’ programming is often cited as a principle – almost a
first law – of commercial television. ‘Jolt’ refers to the moment of ex-
citement generated by a laugh, a violent act, a car chase, a quick film
cut – any fast-paced episode that lures the viewer into the program.
The number of jolts per minute is constantly increasing and some have
also started measuring the frequency of jolts in seconds. A decrease in the
time required for an audience to respond to an image is also observed. In
the 1960s, an audience needed about twenty seconds to recognise an image
and today this happens in several seconds (Hayles 2007).
Hayles (2007) denotes that this shift in cognitive styles that is in progress is
a generational shift from deep to hyper attention. In contrast to the deep at-
tention, the cognitive style which is characterised by concentrating on a sin-
gle object for long periods, hyper attention means switching focus rapidly
among different tasks, preferring multiple information streams, seeking a
high level of stimulation, and having a low tolerance for boredom (Hayles
2007). The benefits and shortcomings of those cognitive styles depend on
the context and the task at hand. As Hayles (2007) explains, hyper attention
82
