Studying Online;Succeeding through Distance Learning at University

What is diferent about online study? 15 
lecture theatre, you might doodle on your notebook, but that’s 
about all you can do. However, once you are online, you can go 
of and do a host of other more exciting things, from watching the 
latest TikTok to checking out the latest memes on Twitter. Tis 
is all before you consider the distractions that arise from notif-
cations and pings about messages or updates. In a study at the 
Faculty of Education at Kuwait University, researchers found that 
it was the “fear of missing out” (FOMO) that leads students to 
be distracted from their studies (Al-Furaih and Al-Awidi, 2021). 
Notifcations that alert students to information mean they get 
distracted because they are concerned that they will miss out on 
something important. On the one hand, the technology is helping 
ensure students are well-informed. On the other hand, it leads to 
more distractions from studies, reducing attention and concen-
tration. Technology is simultaneously helping and hindering on-
line studying. 
Another feature of online study that leads to distraction is the 
never-ending supply of information. In the past, students had 
their textbooks and the library. Suppose they wanted to delve 
deeper into a subject. In that case, they could only go as far as the 
available resources allowed them. However, with online studying, 
students can keep on searching for more and more information 
on a topic. Tey can go down long and winding routes through 
various web sources, delving ever deeper into a specifc topic. 
Tis can take students away from the central aspect of what they 
should be studying. Te beneft of having a never-ending library 
of information, thanks to the World Wide Web, is also a hindrance 
to students. It can distract them onto interesting items tangential 
to their real focus. 
MOTIVATION FOR STUDYING IS 
REDUCED ONLINE 
Motivation is an essential aspect of studying. Students want 
to achieve their absolute best, of course. However, in tradi-
tional university settings, much of the motivation comes from 

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