Teens & Screens

Digital Detox for Exam Prep

With our VCE exams due to start before the end of the month, this week, we look at attention, focus and cognitive function as students prepare for their exams. 

It’s easy for teens to get distracted and check social media while you're studying. But a variety of research consistently shows that the mere presence of a smartphone nearby, even when it is face down, reduces cognitive capacity and harms focus - a phenomenon commonly known as "brain drain"

Why this happens:

Scientists attribute this to the brain unconsciously expending cognitive energy to resist or monitor the phone. Simply having the device in your field of view or pocket activates an automatic monitoring system, similar to how your brain reacts when we hear our own names.

Impact on Study:

Reduce concentration - Exam preparation requires students to focus on difficult material for extended periods. A nearby phone can serve as a reminder of messages, notifications or social media, potentially making it harder to maintain attention.

Extra demands on working memory - Working memory allows students to hold and process information at the same time. For example, a student solving an algebra problem must remember previous steps while working through the next one. If fewer mental resources are available for the task, complex activities such as analysing sources, solving problems and planning essays may become more difficult. 

Problematic Retrieval - Exams require students to recall knowledge, apply concepts, reason accurately and manage their time A phone that encourages distraction or interrupts studying may reduce the quality of skill development and mastery of knowledge.

Exam performance and success depend on the quality of students' attention and cognitive effort during periods of study, not just the amount of time spent studying. 

So where possible, distractions should be minimised:

• Turn phones off and put them in another room.

   

• Switch music off - even background music can lower reading comprehension, and hinders performance during complex or demanding cognitive tasks, like responding to practice exam questions.

   

• Digital Free Revision – active recall and responding to practice questions will be more effective when we replicate exam conditions – in silence under timed conditions without access to resources.

Tanya Moran

Leader of Professional Practice