( Carl Court / GETTY IMAGES )Much to the dismay of its students, the Toronto District School Board recently blocked access to Snapchat, Instagram and Netflix on its networks. If the TDSB cares about what’s in the best long-term interests of its students, it should make the ban permanent. Research by Microsoft has found that between 2000 and 2013, the average Canadian’s attention span decreased by 33 per cent, and is now shorter than the average attention span of a goldfish. Many Silicon Valley execs send their children to technology-free Waldorf schools, which emphasize human interaction and hands-on learning. But developing deep mindfulness will be near impossible if schools also encourage students to be on devices explicitly designed to hijack their attention.

Source: thestar May 19, 2017 18:33 UTC