Why Your Teen Should Still Use Traditional Study Techniques in the Tik Tok Era
Making the case for traditional study methods and why your teen should still use them in the digital age
I have been thinking about how different the world is for teenagers since I was at high school.
When I was a braces-wearing fashion sense-deprived teen we didn’t have cell phones. Friends (and mortifyingly, boyfriends) still had to call your landline. I was lucky enough to get my own laptop in my second to last year of high school and plugged it in to the Ethernet cable for Internet, but I don’t recall using the Internet to study until university. I went to the local library to check out books for research for assignments.
You remember, you were there.
Now here was are in the insane times of 2022 where the statistics about social media use among teens are nothing short of horrifying.
But for better or for worse technology has infiltrated every part of most people’s lives (remember when you had a map in your glove box that you whipped out when going to a new destination?!), and that includes the world of studying.
The question I want to explore today is, in this technology-saturated world our teens find themselves in, is there a place for traditional study techniques, or should pen-manufacturing companies call it a day because we’re better off embracing our computer overlords?
Why analogue still rules
I’m not going to bury the lead.
I believe there is still a very important place for traditional study methods. There are benefits to analogue studying that I just can’t see the digital world being able to replace.
Here’s why.
As I keep harping on about, effective studying requires your teen to absorb, process and retain information.
It’s not enough just to know information and regurgitate it (i.e. rote learn). Good exam answers require demonstration of not just knowledge, but application. Critical thinking. Analysis.
This requires a certain level of commitment to the activity of studying. It requires engagement.
Passive methods of studying, like watching videos, will not provide meaningful enough engagement for your teen to acquire a substantive understanding of a topic.
A visual representation of the differences between the cell division processes of mitosis and meiosis might certainly help your teen to understand those differences, but to reach a level of understanding sufficient to apply that knowledge and answer an exam question from memory, most teens will need to engage with that information in a more meaningful, more personal way.
I think there’s nothing more personal and direct than when you’re sitting at a desk with a pen and paper.
There is something about the physical process of writing, and of forcing yourself to write notes in your own words, that creates a much more meaningful interaction between your brain and the information you need to know.
The process of physically writing study notes and drawing your own diagrams and flow charts creates a bridge upon which the information your teen needs to know can make its way into their brain in a way that is a lot more meaningful and permanent than anything done by way of a screen.
There are also no pop-up ads on a piece of paper. No predictive text. It’s just you and your brain.
Embracing resistance during exam study
A lot of teens will find watching a video a lot more appealing than writing study notes, which they might associate with characters using ink wells from Dickensian times, but when it comes to studying, a little bit of resistance is a good thing.
Just like working out; if you’re lifting a weight that’s too light you’re not going to see results.
Particularly during exam study, your teen’s brain needs to do some heavy lifting.
Effective studying requires effort, and your teen will get out what they put in.
Finding balance
This is not to say there is no place for technology when studying.
It would be ignorant and extremely unrealistic to say that teenagers should stick to pen and paper just because that’s the type of study we did.
There are some really great resources for studying on the net. Khan Academy. Quizlet. Grammarly. There will be hundreds more no doubt.
I think when these types of quality resources are used in conjunction with traditional study techniques, your teen can get some great studying done.
If I was studying today I would absolutely be utilising some of the amazing resources out there. I think the online lessons and plethora of practice questions can be invaluable.
In fact some teens will do better by engaging with tech while they study. Depending on their learning style, they might find that online apps and resources really help them to absorb, process and retain information.
Like everything tech, I don’t think the answer is either or. I think the key is to find a balance between our analogue and digital worlds, and as far as studying is concerned, the key for your teen will be on finding the balance that works best for them.
And even though I feel too old for Tik Tok and view the benefits of social media with a big dose of skepticism, I have come to realise that whether we like it (or understand it) or not, these platforms are the way that teens spend time online, and perhaps there is study wisdom out there on Tik Tok.
What are your thoughts? Are there any online resources your teen is finding helpful? Or does the Internet only seem like a giant distraction? Let’s talk it out in the comments.
Clare x
P.S. Sign up with your email over at cramlab.org/start-here and I’ll send you my free Learning Styles Quiz, and Study System Starter Kit. These resources will get your teen’s study on the right track by giving them the building blocks of their Study System. Particularly important if your teen has no clue what types of study techniques might work for them.
