TREND LINES: How do 'digital natives' fit into the workplace?

I spend much of my time with college students who, in a few short months, will be moving into the workforce. I recently came across a study of college students and their use of digital devices that got me thinking about the challenges this group of "digital natives" pose for those of us who did not grow up solely in the Internet age.

The "Journal of Media Education" reports that in 2015, the average college student checked a digital device some 12 times each day while in class, for reasons unrelated to schoolwork. This is an increase from the 11 times a day reported in 2013. Eighty percent of students didn't see this as a distraction. They also reported that they would use the devices even if they got in the way of learning. The need to check devices outweighed the need to be fully present in class. More than 90 percent of the students said they would be against a ban on devices in class and didn't see the act of checking messages as worthy of any penalty. It's no big deal.

Most of the students (89 percent) said they knew they were likely to be distracted and might miss instruction, less than a third were concerned that the instructor might call them out and only 25 percent were concerned that it might impact their grade. Again, no big deal.

The challenge is that digital devices provide a constant distraction and those who are distracted don't see it as a problem. While the study looked at the college classroom, these students are rapidly moving into the workplace. Employers face these same challenges when it comes to meetings and training sessions. The old days of expecting full attention, whatever that is, are gone. Or perhaps the definition of "full attention" is changing.

I'll be the first to say I don't have an answer here. My first inclination is to see it as a lack of respect and bad manners. Or perhaps an addiction? And yet, I'm realizing that this is from the perspective of a late adopter -- someone who has come to digital technology later in life.

What I do know is that our younger generations have grown up in a completely different world, a world of distractions. A world of edutainment, a world of the "Sesame Street" teaching philosophy where learning must be fun and entertaining with lessons based in the principles of advertising with short, attractive sound bites. They have high expectations and short attention spans and are easily distracted to begin with. Put this together with the distraction of technology and we have the challenge. I'm having to rethink all of this. Should we expect them to change? Or do we need to find a way to work with this new reality? Food for thought.

An experienced business executive and organizational consultant, Jan Flynn teaches at the J. Whitney Bunting College of Business at Georgia College & State University.

This story was originally published February 16, 2016 at 9:38 PM with the headline "TREND LINES: How do 'digital natives' fit into the workplace? ."