Productivity has undergone a sonic change over the years. Pens used to click, typewriter keys used to hammer away, and paper used to crinkle. Now, phones beep, tablets hum, and overworked hard drives growl in resistance. The sound of productivity has changed. The meaning, the definition of productivity has changed. Drastically.

With new products come new sounds, new feelings, and new experiences. New inventions and advancements in technology are ushered forward daily in order to make us more productive; however, students use social media for other reasons as well.

“I use social media to see what my friends are up to,” freshman Tanner Bubeck said, “but also to get ideas for fun projects”.

The problem with advancements in technology is that for every productive use of a new product, there are ten other ways to use it unproductively. There will always be a game of Flappy Bird or Fun Run anxiously waiting for us to stop in our tracks and return to the game. There will always be a new Tweet or Snapchat waiting to be seen by tired eyes.

Out of 153 AHS students surveyed, only six of them said that they did not have a social media account, but students have varying reasons for using their media.

“I enjoy seeing the comedic aspect of the Internet,” said Megan Manos, Senior.

The sound of productivity has changed because most of the time, people just aren’t that productive anymore. Phones beep to alert a high score, tablets vibrate as they send a string of tweets, and our computers overwork themselves trying to load online games in the workplace or at school.

People still get things done, but at a much slower rate than before. Productivity used to mean that one could achieve a number of tasks in a small amount of time, but now being productive is just the act of simply doing something.

“The Distraction Addiction”, by author Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, references a state of mind known as “The Monkey Mind”, defined as s a mind filled with noise, incapable of focusing or retaining a long attention span. In the digital age, humans have adapted a sort of monkey mind. We can never focus for too long without picking up our phones, or cradling our beloved electronic devices. From the Talon News survey, 92 students (out of 153) said that they used social media after 6 PM.

“I’ll use social media when I need a distraction from homework sometimes,” senior Sofia Shubert said, “or just to let my mind rest for a few minutes”.

So the question is this: is it possible for human beings to regain the art of productivity without completely doing away with the devices that we use so often as a crutch for our daily lives? Students need to learn to put their phones down, even when the next viral cat video is just a tap away, and take a breath, and just focus.