Film students who can no longer sit through films

Phones, Screens, and “Addiction”

• Multiple comments frame smartphones/social media as highly addictive, with some comparing them—sometimes hyperbolically—to heroin.
• Others push back: “screen addiction” is said not to match clinical addiction; cited research describes mostly psychological withdrawal (restlessness, sleep issues) rather than strong physical symptoms.
• Several note that adults can step away from phones, but there’s concern that early, continuous exposure may reshape developing brains more deeply.
• Personal anecdotes from teachers and families describe students showing withdrawal-like behavior when separated from screens.

Attention Span vs. Boredom and Interest

• One camp: there is an attention crisis; kids cannot stay with books, films, or even classroom tasks, except in 30‑second chunks.
• Another: people can still focus deeply on what they genuinely care about; the “crisis” is more about institutions and teaching methods failing to engage them.
• A nuanced view: attention hasn’t disappeared, but it’s being optimized for high-frequency infotainment; exploration of harder, slower media (books, long films) is getting crowded out.

Who Are Today’s Film Students?

• Many argue the core issue isn’t phones but that a large share of film majors simply don’t care about cinema; they’re likened to CS students who only like video games.
• Formal study is said to often kill prior enthusiasm; being forced to watch “important but dull” works can turn interest into avoidance.
• Some suggest many are really aspiring social-media/reels creators, not cinephiles.

Theater vs. Home and the Future of Moviegoing

• Several see the article less as a youth problem and more about the decline of theatrical culture: students prefer streaming alone; theaters are described as expensive, low-quality, full of ads and rude audiences.
• Others argue home setups now exceed theaters and that long theatrical runs of blockbusters (e.g., modern mega‑franchises) show the general public can still tolerate multi‑hour films.

Pacing, Old Films, and How to Watch

• Disagreement over classic/slow cinema: some find historical and experimental films “excruciating” for modern students raised on rapid cutting; others insist film students should be able to sit through works like The Conversation, 2001, Lawrence of Arabia, Tarkovsky, etc.
• Strong subthread on watching at 2x speed and skipping “boring” suspense or montage sections:
  • Critics say this is exactly an attention-span problem and erodes appreciation for pacing, atmosphere, and visual storytelling.
  • Defenders say it’s rational time management, that many films are bloated (second-act slumps, filler scenes), and that viewers are entitled to “re-edit” their own experience.
• Some argue professors should assign key scenes instead of entire 3–4 hour features, focusing on craft rather than endurance.

Education, Standards, and the “Customer” Problem

• Many call for simply failing film students who can’t complete screenings.
• Others reply that in a tuition-driven system students are effectively customers; mass failure risks enrollment and institutional survival, incentivizing grade inflation and curves.
• One radical view portrays professors/grades as gatekeeping “oppressors” who decide who stays poor or becomes wealthy, challenging meritocracy itself.

Changing Media Ecosystem and Format Shift

• Commenters discuss a broader drift: books → films → series/short clips, each easier to consume than the last.
• Some frame two-hour features as potentially outdated for a “multi-stream” generation; others counter that needing constant stimulation is precisely reduced attention, not evolution.
• TV series and short-form videos are seen as structurally tuned to current habits (short episodes, hooks, recaps), while long films require acquired taste and deliberate practice.
• Parallel is drawn to other arts (classical music, orchestras): older forms persist but no longer sit at the center of cultural innovation.

Satire and Dark Humor About TikTok-ification

• Several replies mock the situation by proposing that professors cut films into vertical 15‑second chunks with Subway Surfers or carrot‑peeling on half the screen, emoji‑like captions, and outrage-bait politics—an exaggerated vision of where attention economics leads.