Are You Still Watching?

Here on the hill, around 81.6% of Hopkins students watch a show or movie every week, with 13.2% of students doing so every day. The second screen phenomenon has manifested among them, with 60.4% of Hopkins students have used a second device while watching television. Some of the most common apps used are social media platforms such as Snapchat, iMessages, or Instagram, as well as puzzle games. 

For some, the shows have turned from the main focus to just something in the background. Juno Queen ’28 stated, “I'm consciously not watching the show and just have it on for background noise,” using his phone to “listen to music or an audiobook instead.” On the other hand, Avery Kinney ’29 explained how she uses her phone to “text [her] friends while watching the show [... or] to talk about the show itself.” Texting seems to be a large reason why many get distracted from their television, with Will Juel ’28 using his phone when “someone texts [him].” Elyssa Power ’28 echoed the sentiment, checking her social media in order to “stay social and text people.” The younger generation isn’t the only one affected by this phenomenon, with Ashima Bakshi ’31 stating, “My mom does this, but about ten times worse.”

Phone use while watching television is common, but students are divided on whether or not it helps or harms their attention. For some, using a phone is able to increase their concentration on the show by allowing for subconscious actions. Naomi Schwartz ’28 explained how she sometimes uses her phone to “do something with [her] hands” while watching a show, helping her focus. Irene Kim ’28 also uses her phone to prevent distractions from her thoughts: “Without a second screen, sometimes I get distracted by my thoughts while watching a show or movie.” Meanwhile, others tend to use their phones due to a lack of prolonged interest. Livia Liu ’26 chooses to sometimes go on the mobile game Subway Surfers while watching a show, stating that “attention spans are fried.” Sometimes, thoughts alone are enough to break interest, as Amory Erenhouse ’27 said “I think of something while watching [a show], and I get sidetracked.” 

The rise of the second screen phenomenon has led to direct changes and shifts in shows and movies. At Hopkins, 11% of students use a second screen due to a lack of interest.  Elias Contratto ’31 stated how “the show gets boring,” and Daniel Ragaza ’31 said that “scenes from the show [...] displayed on the TV can be uninteresting.” In order to combat the audience's use of a second screen, shows have adapted, as Clarissa Castilho ’29 explains how “with second screens some shows have resorted to making plot lines easy to follow no matter where the audience actually starts paying attention resulting in a lower quality of shows.” Blessings Mburu ’29 directly points out the motivation for the change: “Since people don’t really pay attention in shows anymore, why should the producers pay more for better quality when the watchers won’t notice?” The result leads to a cycle in which shows become easier to watch without requiring full attention, while the audience grows more accustomed to using a second screen in return. 

“Since people don’t really pay attention to shows anymore, why should the producers pay more for better quality when the watchers won’t notice?” Mburu asks. With all these shifts in attention, whether or not television will remain as a form of entertainment in the future is something we’ll just have to keep watching to find out.