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Hello Fam, If you are going back to college or you can’t wait to join college for the first time after so much hype you have heard about how amazing college life is then you will find this article useful in regards to college distractions and how to avoid them. For black American students, believe me, college life is one place that will either make or break you.

Here be sure to have a taste of your freedom for the first time from socializing and those frat parties you have been yearning for perhaps. It is still in college that you will build lifetime bonds and relationships and if you are lucky enough you can graduate with three-degree each with its own diploma i.e your academic degree,  marriage certificate, and the birth certificate for your child. In college, the first feeling of independence can be overwhelming and with a lot of distractions. Let’s explore some of them.

1.Environmental College distractions

Residence halls provide students with their first taste of freedom. These factors, however, expose students to a variety of distractions. For example, disruptive noisy parties can make it really difficult to study. Lack of privacy in the halls of residence because accommodation halls are shared by two or three students can also be distracting.

So, definitely prepare ahead for this by making sure that the roommates you are housed with are like-minded. Things will go awry pretty quickly if they are ‘social director” and you love things peaceful and quiet- and vice versa. If you have roommates that spend too much time partying you’ll need to figure out a way to avoid them during the week and during high-stakes periods at the middle and end of the semester. Even better if you can relocate out of that room.

2.Technological College Distractions

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The prevalence of laptops and smartphones makes professors feel like they are fighting for the time and attention of college students. Tablets and other text message devices are leading the trends. Students who use wireless internet technology are exposed to a variety of online distractions such as playing sports, browsing the web, or watching videos, and one that you must seriously handle with serious care, phonography.

3.Google

Google can be a useful research aid. Wait, let me clarify: it can be used as a study tool. It can also be a great way to waste time. So you use the internet to look up the dates that a French king ruled. Isn’t it just a simple reality that takes two seconds? But then you find all this other information on his Wikipedia page, including the fact that one of his wives was beheaded, and then you look up the history of the guillotine, and then you find yourself on an Alice in Wonderland page with quotes about “off with her head,” and then…you get the idea. If you are going to get good with time management, you’ve got to watch out for “googling”.

4. Online Games

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Sure, you might have fumed when your boyfriend became addicted to the “Call of Duty”, claiming that video games were a waste of time. But, all of a sudden, that Facebook Jetman game or that online word game sound incredibly appealing. Hey, for one round, it’s a nice mental break, right? When you’ve surpassed all of your mates’ scores and it’s 3 a.m. That does happen, and can one reason why you made a C grade in class instead of a B. Watch it.

5.Youtube

YouTube has the potential to be really distracting especially for college students. It is easy to waste one minute watching a YouTube video and that minute turns to hours and hours to days of wasted time and a great distraction to your studies. Information load doesn’t mean education load. Separate the timing for learning from the timing for entertainment.

6.Cheap Alcohol distractions in College

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Binge drinking is a dangerous distraction for most college students. Binge drinking is consuming four or more drinks in less than two hours. In college, binge drinking culture is characterized by cheap alcohol and quick availability which all have a negative impact on the life of students.

7. College Relationships

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When College opens for most students so do their  hearts also. It’s at this stage that you know the difference between the real deal and the hullabaloo that is campus relationships. Although it may be a need for social experiences, it could also be a waste of time. College is a time in one’s life when dating is fashionable. All craves for the romance you’ve been searching for your whole life could bein college. Everyone wants to know what it’s like to be wanted, and to date the right person.

8.Facebook and Twitter

You’re not in college if you didn’t see this coming. No matter how many times I check Twitter or Facebook during the day, it always seems to be the same old nonsense, and yet I always return after reading a chapter or two. Maybe it’s a part of our college culture, or maybe we just want to see if someone tags any cute pictures of us from the weekend. Whatever the case may be, there is a reason why so many students ask their best friend to change their password for the duration of exam season, and it isn’t just for fun.

9.Financial Distractions in College

You would be poor in college unless you have wealthy parents. But so are the vast majority of your peers. Please, don’t bother trying to catch up with the Joneses. Live as cheaply as you can while remaining healthy. The real winner is one who goes on after college doing good for themselves, their families and their community. All you have to aim for now is remaining safe and pass your classes. You might see a lot of students who have this or that thing that you like. Don’t be tempted to use one of the credit cards available in your university’s quad/mall or other central location. You’ll be paying off the debt for a long time. Stick to a budget and just buy what you really require. Trust me, you are the smartest if you take heed of this advice.

10.Parties

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For certain students, college is as much about the social scene as it is about the studies, and college parties can be a big source of distraction from studying. It’s pointless to participate in courses just to receive poor grades, and failing a class is even worse because it wastes hundreds or even thousands of dollars while also adding to the expense of your college degree and leaving a permanent mark on your academic transcript.

You don’t have to be a hermit in college. You should socialize a little in a healthy portion while you’re young, but changing your attention from partying to studying can save you money, help you get better grades, keep you out of trouble, and help you stay on top of things in general. The pandemic season will soon end, and the temptation to consume fun and social migling will rise; understandably so given the lack of it ion the last 15 months. But be wise. Listen to your quiet mind when it speaks. Recognize it when you get a signal to cut it out. Here is your best rain check: will mama be proud of me doing this? If your trus answer in your mind is no, cut it out.

Your turn: what are other college distractions you know – whether one that you experienced in college or that you’ve heard of. Share your comment below to educate our community.