Watching a film in its entirety should be the minimum requirement in any cinema studies program. Yet in the United States, teachers report increasing difficulty among their students to sustain attention for the duration of a screening, even in lecture halls.
The warning, reported by the American press and picked up by several international media outlets, goes far beyond the realm of cinema: it raises questions about the capacity of a generation, and more broadly of an entire society, to preserve what is now called the “long attention,” essential to learning, analysis and deep understanding.
A signal coming from an unexpected place
What is striking about this alert is its starting point. The testimonies come from instructors in film studies, a discipline where attentive viewing is the very foundation of academic work. Several professors describe the same scene: despite the academic setting, phones appear, gazes drift, and the viewing becomes fragmented.
In some cases, internal data show that less than half of students actually start the assigned films and that only a minority watch them to the end. The authors of these findings note that this is not a scientifically generalizable study across all American campuses, but a set of concordant observations. The signal is repeated enough to warrant concern.
Why concentration is weakening
The problem extends far beyond the classroom. It is part of a cognitively transformed environment. The attention economy values the short, the fast, the instantaneous. Notifications, infinite scrolling and constant multitasking have reshaped mental habits.
Academic research shows that the average time spent on a task on a screen has declined significantly over two decades, from several minutes at the start of the 2000s to less than a minute today in many digital contexts. While this does not prove an incapacity to sustain attention over long periods, these data illustrate fragmentation that has become almost reflexive.
What the studies say: a real effect, but gradual
Research converges on one point: intensive and unregulated smartphone use is associated with a measurable drop in academic performance. The effect is modest, but steady. The more frequent and interrupting the use, the harder the cognitive effort becomes to maintain over time.
Another key factor: sleep. Several studies show a clear link between problematic smartphone use, degradation of sleep quality and cognitive fatigue. Moreover, a lack of sleep directly affects attention, memory and learning ability, creating a vicious circle.
Banning smartphones at school: a partial answer
In response to this situation, many countries have chosen the path of banning smartphones at school. Worldwide, nearly four out of ten education systems have already adopted restrictive rules.
Initial feedback shows positive effects on the school climate and classroom focus, notably in institutions where the ban is clearly enforced. But other studies emphasize that the impact remains limited if total screen time remains high outside of school. In other words, banning phones in class can help, but is not enough by itself.
And what about Tunisia?
Tunisia is not immune to this issue. Internet connectivity rates are very high there, and digital usage is widespread, including among the youngest. Aware of the stakes, the Ministry of Education has reiterated in recent years the ban on smartphone use in schools, stressing the need to enforce this framework without ambiguity.
The alert coming from American universities thus acts as an early warning: what is manifest today at the university level is often the extension of practices established much earlier, starting in middle school or high school.
The takeaway message: attention has become a skill to protect
This signal concerns not only cinema or phones. It highlights three major urgencies.
– The first is educational. Without sustained attention, deep understanding recedes. Reading, writing, analyzing and arguing become more difficult.
– The second is social. Hyperconnectivity fragments presence with others and fosters a paradoxical form of isolation, amid a constant stream of digital interactions.
– The third is cultural and civic. A society unable to sustain effort over time becomes more vulnerable to simplistic, emotional or manipulative content.
Breaking free from the all-or-nothing trap
The challenge is not to oppose technology and education, but to build a protective framework. This involves clearly defined periods without phones in institutions, an attention-focused pedagogy, and shared accountability among schools, universities and families.
Relearning how to concentrate is not a step backward. It is a necessary adaptation to a world saturated with solicitations, where attention has become a rare, precious and strategic resource.
