Yet a massive population of HNers are pro-tax. It's mind boggling that present with consistent failures some of the most logical people in the world still choose irrational outcomes.

Tablets and Laptops are such complete entertainment devices these days, I don't know how locked-down these devices are, but there's often ways to access games and videos and even phone apps. And as the article says, social media and gaming apps are made to be addictive as possible. Just look at the teenagers who walk around looking only at their phones. Its not surprising kids aren't performing as well. Now for high-schoolers, most kids get ChatGPT to write all their assignments, so there's another skill thats going to wither [1].

[1] source: partner is a high school educator.

> [...]

> While teachers may be intending for these tools to be strictly educational, students often have different ideas. According to a 2014 study, which surveyed and observed 3,000 university students, students engaged in off-task activities on their computers nearly two-thirds of the time.

Oh wow! Maybe try this instead:

If you f around on your computer, tablet, and phone when you need to be paying attention, you will not win at school or in industry.

You are responsible for maintaining focus.

It is not their responsibility to be more entertaining than your other apps.

It is your responsibility to focus.

Do not blame technology for your unwillingness or inability to focus.

Do not blame temptation. Accept responsibility for your behavior.

When you're paying by the credit hour, paying a professor to talk at you while you allow yourself to be distracted with your device is a waste of time and money.