Why Students Can’t Focus Anymore

From late-night scrolling to fragmented study sessions, social media is quietly reshaping how university students sleep, study and pay attention.

Figure 1.A university student scrolls through TikTok while studying late at night.AI-generated illustration created by the author (2026).

At 1:43 a.m., Regina, a 22-year-old Master of Media Practice student at the University of Sydney, was still scrolling through TikTok in bed.

It was the middle of the final teaching weeks, and she was trying to complete several major assessments, including a news writing project and a magazine design assignment. What began as a quick break from her laptop gradually turned into nearly an hour of scrolling.

“I’ll tell myself I’m only going to check one thing, and suddenly it’s 2 a.m.,” Regina said.

Regina said social media often becomes a source of distraction when academic pressure begins to build.

“When I’m stressed about deadlines, I end up checking my phone more often,” she said. “I know I should be working, but I keep switching between my assignments and social media.”

Instead of helping her relax, the constant interruptions often leave her feeling more anxious and further behind schedule.

The next morning, she struggled to stay focused during class.

For many university students, moments like this have become routine. Social media is no longer just entertainment or a way to communicate with friends. It has become deeply embedded in how students study, relax and fall asleep — often all at once.

As short-form video platforms continue to dominate digital culture, concerns are growing about how constant scrolling may be affecting university students’ attention spans, productivity and sleep quality.

A 2025 meta-analysis published in Frontiers in Psychiatry, which examined more than 548,000 participants, found that increased screen time was consistently associated with shorter sleep duration and higher risks of insomnia symptoms. Researchers reported that each additional hour of daily screen time was linked to approximately three to five minutes less sleep per night.

Figure 2.Impact of Screen Time on Sleep Outcomes.Infographic created by the author based on findings reported by He et al. (2025)

Attention Fragmentation

Figure 3. A screenshot of weekly screen time data illustrates how smartphones have become a constant presence in students’ daily lives. Screenshot provided by the author.

For many students, however, the effects feel far more immediate than statistics suggest.

“I check my phone every 10 or 15 minutes while studying,” said Mark, a 23-year-old Master of Data Science student at the University of Sydney.

“Sometimes I unlock it without even thinking. It’s become automatic.”

Mark said social media interruptions make it difficult to regain concentration once his attention has shifted away from study.

“You lose momentum,” he said. “Even after putting the phone down, part of your brain still wants stimulation.”

Researchers increasingly describe this phenomenon as “attention fragmentation” — the repeated disruption of concentration caused by constant notifications, short-form content and habitual checking behaviours.

Watch: How Social Media Hijacks Attention

Neurologists say endless scrolling and rapid dopamine rewards may gradually reshape how users focus, process stimulation and maintain attention over time.

[embed]How Social Media Hijacks Your Brain | Neurologist Explains

Dr Sarah Nguyen, a Sydney-based psychologist who studies digital behaviour among young adults, said social media platforms are specifically designed to encourage continuous engagement.

“Many of these platforms rely on variable reward systems,” she said. “Users never know what the next post or video will be, and that unpredictability keeps people scrolling.”

Nguyen explained that short-form content can condition users to expect rapid stimulation, making slower and more cognitively demanding activities — such as reading academic material or writing essays — feel more difficult over time.

Why Is Social Media So Hard to Stop Using?

“Attention is trainable,” Nguyen said. “If people spend hours consuming fast, highly stimulating content, sustained focus can become harder to maintain.”

A recent study published in JAMA Pediatrics found that increased daily screen use among young people was associated with later sleep onset, meaning users tended to go to bed later on days when they spent more time on screens.

Figure 4.Social media use has become deeply embedded in both students’ study routines and sleep habits.

Image generated by the author using AI tools.

While the study noted that screen time alone may not directly damage every aspect of sleep quality, researchers suggested that late-night device use can still disrupt sleep timing and routines.

This reflects the experiences of many students interviewed for this story.

Joe Rui, a 23-year-old Master of Economics student at the University of New South Wales, said scrolling through Instagram and TikTok before bed has become part of his nightly routine despite knowing it affects his sleep.

“It’s almost like my brain needs it before sleeping,” he said. “But I also know I sleep later because of it.”

Joe said he often feels mentally exhausted during morning classes after staying awake on social media the night before.

“I’ll wake up tired and promise myself I’ll sleep earlier the next night,” he said. “Then I end up doing the exact same thing again.”

Watch: Students Reflect on Social Media’s Impact

Many young people say social media affects not only their sleep, but also their stress levels, attention spans and daily routines.

[embed]Teens Open Up About the Impact of Social Media on Their Lives

Studies suggest these patterns are increasingly common among young adults.

A cohort study published in Sleep Science found that excessive smartphone screen time was strongly associated with poorer sleep quality among university students. More than 65 per cent of participants were classified as having poor sleep quality.

Researchers believe several factors may contribute to these effects, including cognitive overstimulation, emotional engagement and exposure to blue light before bedtime.

Balancing Connection and Concentration

Yet despite growing awareness of digital fatigue, many students say reducing screen time feels unrealistic.

“Everything happens on your phone now,” Regina said. “I use it for study, communication, news and entertainment. The problem is that the same device that helps me get work done is often the one distracting me from it.”

Instead of completely abandoning social media, some students are attempting smaller changes, such as using app timers, disabling notifications or avoiding their phones before bed.

As universities continue to expand digital learning and communication, students are increasingly navigating environments where attention has become a valuable and contested resource.

While social media offers connection, entertainment and convenience, researchers suggest its long-term effects on concentration and sleep deserve greater attention.

For students already balancing academic demands, employment and social commitments, the challenge may no longer be whether they use social media, but how they manage it in ways that support both their wellbeing and academic success.

References

He, H., Wang, Y., Li, X., Zhang, Y., & Chen, J. (2025). Screen time and sleep outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 16, Article 1640263. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1640263

JAMA Pediatrics. (2025). Daily screen use and sleep onset among adolescents and young adults. JAMA Pediatrics. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-abstract/2845524

Sleep Science. (2024). Smartphone screen time and sleep quality among university students: A cohort study. Sleep Science. https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/sleep-science

The University of Queensland. (2024). The attention economy and digital distraction. https://study.uq.edu.au

YouTube. (2024). How Social Media Hijacks Your Brain | Neurologist Explains. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HTcZ98Wh84

YouTube. (2024). Teens Open Up About the Impact of Social Media on Their Lives. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=najiOPaR37I