Opinion article by Dr Remeredzayi Gudyanga, Lecturer in Curriculum Studies and Higher Education, Faculty of Education, University of the Free State

There is growing frustration in South African classrooms. Around 80% of Grade 4 pupils cannot read for meaning, even when they can recognise words. Many children no longer sustain reading in the way previous generations did. Ask them to work through a long passage and focus often fades within minutes. Yet these same children can spend hours on TikTok, scroll continuously on Instagram, or remain deeply absorbed in a game on a PS5. 

This is not simply a discipline problem. It reflects a deeper shift in how attention is formed and maintained.

The difficulty many pupils face in sustaining attention in classrooms is increasingly tied to the environments in which their attention is being shaped. Writers such as Nicholas Carr and Jennifer Oaten have argued that digital environments are not neutral. They shape how we think and how we sustain attention. Platforms such as TikTok, YouTube and Instagram are engineered to hold attention, with one piece of content leading to the next. Research across neuroscience and behavioural science shows how this mix of uncertainty and constant reward reinforces repeated engagement. As Anna Lembke explains in Dopamine Nation, repeated exposure to high-reward stimulation can reset what the brain expects, making slower activities like reading long texts harder to sustain. 

When children move from these environments into classrooms, the contrast is sharp. Outside, they engage with fast, responsive systems. Inside, they are expected to slow down, have patience and work through extended texts. The forms of attention shaped outside the classroom do not match what is required inside it.

This shift is now visible even among adults. Research by Gloria Mark shows that attention spans on screens have dropped to around 47 seconds. At the same time, reading for pleasure among adults has declined significantly over the past two decades, partly linked to digital media use. Even those who grew up with books increasingly struggle to sustain focus. The issue is not that texts have changed, but that the conditions supporting attention have.

In classrooms, the effects are clear. Pupils may appear restless, easily bored, or unable to follow extended instructions. They may struggle to stay with tasks that do not provide immediate feedback. In some cases, these behaviours resemble ADHD: shortened attention span, irritability, and difficulty sustaining effort.

This does not mean ADHD is being widely misdiagnosed. But it does signal a deeper shift. Digital environments are shaping attention in ways that resemble ADHD-like patterns, and for learners who already have ADHD, these conditions may intensify the challenge.

What makes this more concerning is that attention is not just a classroom skill. It underpins learning and shapes how individuals function beyond school. When children cannot sustain attention, the effects extend into academic performance, limiting their ability to think through problems, complete tasks, and engage deeply with ideas. Left unaddressed, these patterns may carry into adulthood, affecting how people work, decide, and manage everyday demands. If these patterns are shaped by environment, they are not fixed traits but learned responses that can be reshaped.

At the same time, children are not incapable of focus. Many sustain intense concentration in digital environments. The difference lies in how that attention is structured. In digital spaces, focus is externally driven and continuously reinforced. Reading, by contrast, depends on internally sustained focus.

This raises a key question. Should education adapt to these new patterns of attention, or maintain traditional expectations?

The answer lies in holding both positions in tension. Education must respond to how attention is shaped, but it cannot be confined by it. Its role is to extend what children can do. This means helping pupils understand their own attention, why fast-moving content feels easy and reading feels demanding, and how to stay with complex ideas.

Restricting devices may help at the margins, but it does not address the underlying issue. Even when devices are removed, the expectation of rapid stimulation remains. Parents have a role to play in regulating screen time, but responsibility cannot rest there alone. Governments and social media companies are increasingly being called to account, particularly in contexts such as the US, where concerns about child protection in digital spaces are growing.

The task is not new, but it is more urgent. In a world of constant stimulation, education must ensure that children can engage with high-speed, stimulus-rich digital information, but also slow down, read with focus, and think beyond the surface.