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<p>Smartphones hijack dopaminergic reward circuits through unpredictable bursts of novelty, undermining sustained attention. Many educators, in response, “Hollywoodise” their teaching—mistaking superficial engagement for genuine understanding. Such tactics, I contend, fundamentally misdiagnose the precise nature of the crisis. Drawing on Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS), this paper shows how variable-ratio reinforcement in digital platforms weakens attentional control, intrinsic motivation, and critical cognition—ultimately steering pedagogy toward entertainment-centric models that exacerbate rather than ameliorate the problem. Critiquing three flawed responses—(i) Technocentrism, (ii) Reductive gamification, and (iii) Experience-first edutainment—I propose tantric learning as an alternative pedagogy that steadily rebuilds attentional capacity through disciplined, intellectually demanding practices.</p>

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Resisting Edutainment: How Reward Deficiency Syndrome Fuels the Student Attention Crisis

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年11月19日

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  • Gerry Dunne

摘要

Smartphones hijack dopaminergic reward circuits through unpredictable bursts of novelty, undermining sustained attention. Many educators, in response, “Hollywoodise” their teaching—mistaking superficial engagement for genuine understanding. Such tactics, I contend, fundamentally misdiagnose the precise nature of the crisis. Drawing on Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS), this paper shows how variable-ratio reinforcement in digital platforms weakens attentional control, intrinsic motivation, and critical cognition—ultimately steering pedagogy toward entertainment-centric models that exacerbate rather than ameliorate the problem. Critiquing three flawed responses—(i) Technocentrism, (ii) Reductive gamification, and (iii) Experience-first edutainment—I propose tantric learning as an alternative pedagogy that steadily rebuilds attentional capacity through disciplined, intellectually demanding practices.