Imagine this scenario: notebook sitting on your lap, music playing loudly, checking messages on Facebook, reading through emails, watching a YouTube video, and watching TV at the same time. Sound familiar?

This is a common situation for many teenagers.

Technology has created a multi-tasking lifestyle and, as a result, a lack of productivity.

If I’m not playing guitar and listening to music, I’ll be watching random, pointless videos and reading through, distant friends’ statuses on Facebook.

The only way I can truly avoid doing this is to turn off my computer, sit away from my desk, and put my guitar out of reach.

Otherwise, I inevitably will end up distracted.

In a study done at Ohio State University, it was found that Facebook users had GPAs between 3.0 and 3.5 whereas non-Facebook users had GPAs between 3.5 and 4.0.

From this study, it has become ever more apparent how drastically procrastination and distractions affect a student’s ability to be successful in school.

The question is, why are kids not able to focus on a single topic?

Is it that they are so addicted to their social networking and digital entertainment?

Or, is it that they are getting less interested in their studies?

Personally, I find that in the subjects I am really interested in, I will focus better and not multi-task.

In the subject matter that I do not find as intriguing, I tend to sub-consciously move towards the Internet and other mindless distractions to avoid doing the work.

The hardest part is going to bed at 12:30 a.m. and getting up early in the morning when I could easily go to bed earlier and get a good night’s rest.

If you are able to force yourself to sit down and just get your work done, you will be fine.

But for a large majority of kids, this is not an option.

This is why, at least for me, college seems like it will be a solution for this problem.

Once the basic required classes are completed, you can choose classes you find to be interesting and discover what you personally like to do.

I believe that if I can choose the classes I want and am interested in, I will be able to focus.

A solution to this problem in high school may be more of a choice in course selection.

It is definitely good to have students try new courses, but as they get older they should have more choices.

The problem is that if I have too much time to do the work, I will either procrastinate or get distracted because I know it is not crucial that the work is done soon.

Junior Olivia Liebman says that she often gets distracted due lack of actual motivation.

She says she would rather be doing something she enjoys that she gets something out of rather than the tedious mindless work.

Whether sub-conscious or intentional, she says that she will often drift to searching music on the web, watching her favorite TV shows, or talking to her friends on the phone.

Distractions are clearly a problem, but it seems as if solving the problem is not in eliminating the distractions; it is getting students more interested in the subject matter.

This could mean more options for class selection, or giving them more meaningful work and less "busy work."