Film Students Who Don't Watch Films

[Martin McCaffery]

The Atlantic

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/01/college-students-movies-attention-span/685812/?gift=c3F7u4yogXDKCnni45_cPdN2MXz9T7Om7C5bT2TUoWA& utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share

Everyone knows it’s hard to get college students to do the reading—remember books? But the attention-span crisis is not limited to the written word. Professors are now finding that they can’t even get film students—film students—to sit through movies. “I used to think, If homework is watching a movie, that is the best homework ever,” Craig Erpelding, a film professor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, told me. “But students will not do it.”

I heard similar observations from 20 film-studies professors around the country. They told me that over the past decade, and particularly since the pandemic, students have struggled to pay attention to feature-length films. Malcolm Turvey, the founding director of Tufts University’s Film and Media Studies Program, officially bans electronics during film screenings. Enforcing the ban is another matter: About half the class ends up looking furtively at their phones.

[Marcel Birgelen]

I guess the movies of the future will be shot on 9:16 aspect ratios, will feature tons of overlayed shit flying over the screen, including "subtitles" for everything everybody says. The maximum length of a scene will be 30 seconds and no feature movie can be longer than 20 minutes.

We're already seeing sings of this in the recent movies. There was an article up here that Netflix demands their movies to be shot in such way, they can be enjoyed while the viewer is essentially watching it in the background, while doomscrolling on his/her own mobile phone.

[Frank Cox]

I wonder if part of the problem is relevance. Take, for example, Dial M for Murder or more recently Phone Booth

Today's young people have never seen, let alone used, a dial telephone or a phone booth. Many movies make assumptions that the viewer is familiar with this thing or that, and part of the plot may even be putting that thing into an unusual situation or using it in an unusual way. If the viewer isn't acquainted with the usual nature of that object, then the point can be lost or at least become less of a factor than it would otherwise.

Maybe kids these days don't relate to traditional lawnmowers.

[Martin McCaffery]

Judging from the number of old people in the wild who cannot bear to be without their phones in movies, I don't think it is a generational problem.

[Ed Gordon]

students have struggled to pay attention to feature-length films

And the reason is:

Smartphone addiction refers to excessive, compulsive, and uncontrolled smartphone use that negatively impacts daily life, relationships, mental health, and physical well-being.
While not officially recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), it is widely acknowledged by researchers and clinicians as a form of behavioral addiction, often linked to problematic smartphone use (PSU) or mobile phone overuse (MPO).
Key Signs of Smartphone Addiction

• Loss of control: Inability to stop using the phone despite negative consequences.
• Anxiety without the phone: Experiencing nomophobia (fear of being without a phone), irritability, or panic when separated from it.
• Compulsive checking: Reaching for the phone out of boredom, anxiety, or habit, even without a notification.
• Neglect of responsibilities: Missing work, school, or social obligations due to phone use.
• Withdrawal symptoms: Similar to substance addiction, including stress, insomnia, and mood swings when not using the device.
• Phantom vibrations: Feeling the phone buzz when it hasn’t.
• Social and emotional toll: Reduced face-to-face interaction, increased loneliness, anxiety, and depression.

Causes and Mechanisms


Smartphones are designed to be highly engaging through dopamine-triggering feedback loops—notifications, likes, messages, and endless scrolling.
These features exploit the brain’s reward system, creating habits similar to gambling or substance use. Fear of missing out (FOMO) and continuous partial attention (split focus across multiple digital inputs) further fuel compulsive behavior.
Health and Behavioral Impacts

• Mental health: Linked to increased anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and sleep disturbances.
• Cognitive effects: Reduced attention span, impaired memory, and decreased creativity.
• Brain changes: Studies show reduced grey matter volume and disrupted GABA levels—neurochemicals tied to addiction and emotional regulation—similar to those seen in substance use disorders.
• Physical health: Eye strain, poor posture, and disrupted sleep cycles due to blue light exposure.

Prevalence and Vulnerable Groups

• Adolescents and young adults are most at risk, with 16% of teens showing signs of addiction (vs.
  6.3% globally).
• Girls are more likely to experience social media-related addiction and its emotional toll.
• In regions like Jammu and Kashmir, smartphone addiction among children is described as reaching epidemic levels, with long-term developmental risks.

How to Address It

• Self-awareness: Track usage and recognize patterns (e.g., constant checking, emotional reliance).
• Set boundaries: Designate phone-free times (meals, bedtime, family time), use app timers, and disable non-essential notifications.
• Replace habits: Use alternative coping strategies—exercise, meditation, hobbies, or nature—to manage boredom or stress.
• Professional help: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), support groups (e.g., Internet Tech Addiction Anonymous), or online therapy can be effective for severe cases.

Note: While smartphone addiction is not a formal diagnosis, the warning signs and impacts are well-documented.
The goal is not to eliminate phone use, but to regain control and ensure technology serves you—not the other way around.

(Summary generated by AI)

Shorter movies made from better scripts can't fix it.

[Mike Blakesley]

Judging from the number of old people in the wild who cannot bear to be without their phones in movies, I don't think it is a generational problem.

Agreed with this. Cell phone idiocy in movies knows no age.

And the old folks get way madder than young'ns when you ask them to please shut it off.

There was one old couple, actually parents of a friend of mine, who were fairly regular moviegoers. During one movie they were just talking to each other like they were in their living room. I had a complaint about them. So I went and said "Folks, I need to ask you to whisper if you would - there are other people sitting near you." So they shut up for the rest of the show, and then they never came to a movie again.

[Frank Cox]

A couple of weeks ago a guy who occasionally comes to the show (by himself) came in as usual and when I went to stand at the back of the auditorium at the start of the show as I usually do I saw him unpacking a bag. When I walked down the aisle to where he was sitting I saw that he had a big bottle of fruit juice, a bottle of water, a jumbo bag of licorice, potato chips and two or three other things. All laid out on the seats and floor beside him. I gave him my standard line about, "Would you go to a restaurant and bring your own sandwich?"

He said, "I can't enjoy the movie without this stuff," so I ... um ... invited him to leave.

I'm sure I'll never see him again.

[Jim Cassedy]

<edited> He said, "I can't enjoy the movie without this stuff,"

Just be happy he wasn't someone who said he enjoys watching
movies in his underwear, or somesuch thing.

[Mike Blakesley]

We see people bring in water bottles all the time but they usually stop at the concession and buy drinks so... I don't know. Maybe they're wanting to wash down the soda with plain water. Or maybe the water bottle is empty and they put their soda in it. I'm not judging, at least they're buying stuff.

[Ryan Gallagher]

We kind of veered off topic a hair. But back to the OP. Distinct from being unable to sit through a film lesson plan, there is nothing wrong with someone making a movie not having an in depth academic understanding of films. It does tend to take a team though, so some backgrounding is probably advantageous.

But sometimes one of the best paths to original art and ideas is to not have your head full of everything that came prior. Both approaches are valid of course.

[Leo Enticknap]

...there is nothing wrong with someone making a movie not having an in depth academic understanding of films.

Hence the infamous interview footage John Ford listening patiently to François Truffaut explaining why academic film theorists had become interested in his work, and then responding "I'm flattered, but that's all bullshit. I make movies that make money - it's that simple."

Somewhat ironic that The Conversation should be a lightning rod for talking about eroded attention spans, given that the subject of the movie is a character who is able to concentrate entirely on not very much happening for hours at a time. And if these kids have PTSD at the thought of sitting through Jeanne Dielmann, my first year film school experience back in the early '90s would really have sent them to the funny farm: Fritz Lang's Niebelungen, at just over five hours, silent, and, as I remember it, full of close up shots of plot points being conveyed by slowly changing expressions.

[Ryan Gallagher]

Hence the infamous interview footage John Ford listening patiently to François Truffaut explaining why academic film theorists had become interested in his work, and then responding "I'm flattered, but that's all bullshit. I make movies that make money - it's that simple."

Somewhat ironic that The Conversation should be a lightning rod for talking about eroded attention spans, given that the subject of the movie is a character who is able to concentrate entirely on not very much happening for hours at a time. And if these kids have PTSD at the thought of sitting through Jeanne Dielmann, my first year film school experience back in the early '90s would really have sent them to the funny farm: Fritz Lang's Niebelungen, at just over five hours, silent, and, as I remember it, full of close up shots of plot points being conveyed by slowly changing expressions.

Jeanne Dielmann or similar as you list should actually be a medically approved "test" for ADHD (or at least the Attention Deficit part). But even before cell phones we were starting to see an uptick in children being described as such... mostly cause the medical world had come up with a definition for the condition or disorder. Whether it was that or Dyslexia, special treatment became the rage. Personally I was probably a bit of both myself, spectrum wise, but I was too old for the early diagnosis and had already developed my own coping mechanisms. I accept serious cases need serious help, but i'm not sure the labels help anyone at a developmental age.

The problem now is the technology means people actually develop coping techniques far worse than they used to, if at all, or the addictive nature of the dopamine tapped by every video app or social media network ever made is just too much for the young mind to resist. They aren't actually addicted to their phones, they are addicted to the chemicals their phones make their brain produce... and most of it is predatory by design. The analogy to Joe Camel marketing to children is an apt one, although now the devices deliver the chemical directly, no purchase necessary, but no warning labels either.

A film use to be the dominant "source" for such a similar media based chemical flood in the brain, but it's been outmatched by short form always available drugs people have on their person at all time, not unlike that pack of cigarettes. To continue the smoking analogy, long form smoking such as cigars, pipes, and Hooka's fell out of vogue as soon as people had a short form version, hell even the classic cigarette has been replaced by technology now with an even shorter format of delivery and more availability.

If the tech and media companies (let's admit they are the same now), and advertisers had their way we would all permanently look like this:

Clockwork.jpg

[Bill Seipel]

Hence the infamous interview footage John Ford listening patiently to François Truffaut explaining why academic film theorists had become interested in his work, and then responding "I'm flattered, but that's all bullshit. I make movies that make money - it's that simple."

Somewhat ironic that The Conversation should be a lightning rod for talking about eroded attention spans, given that the subject of the movie is a character who is able to concentrate entirely on not very much happening for hours at a time. And if these kids have PTSD at the thought of sitting through Jeanne Dielmann, my first year film school experience back in the early '90s would really have sent them to the funny farm: Fritz Lang's Niebelungen, at just over five hours, silent, and, as I remember it, full of close up shots of plot points being conveyed by slowly changing expressions.

How about Wim Wender's 5 hour cut of 'Until the End of the World'? Ha! They showed this on TCM one (late) night and I recorded it. Took TWO sittings to get through it and I still don't recall what it was about. Great actors and soundtrack though.

[Leo Enticknap]

I'll see your Wenders and raise you Frederick Wiseman's Near Death (a six-hour long fly on the wall documentary about terminally ill patients in a cancer ward).

OK, it's only a matter of time before Andy Warhol is mentioned. Derek Jarman's Blue springs to mind as well, even though it's only about an hour and a half long.

[Benjamin Ruder]

How about Wim Wender's 5 hour cut of 'Until the End of the World'? Ha! They showed this on TCM one (late) night and I recorded it. Took TWO sittings to get through it and I still don't recall what it was about. Great actors and soundtrack though.

wow I had trouble with the theatrical cut....didn't know a 5 hour version existed!