14 year-old Allison Miller sends and receives 27,000 texts in a month (and no, this is not the "new way to stand out" that I'm suggesting). While she may the exception, the article goes on to describe just how many digital interruptions teenagers face today, and how the constant need to multi-task is affecting their work.
I see a huge opportunity for teens here, one that if you capitalized on could give you a real college admissions advantage. If you'd be willing to turn off the interruptions regularly, you could become a teen who can get a lot of great work done in a short period of time. Not many teens can do that today.
What if you became the only one of your friends who turned off your phone and internet for however long it took for you to get your work done every day? How much less time would it take to study and do your homework? How much better would your work be? How much more time would you have for doing other things while other teens are busy being interrupted?
20 years go, you wouldn't stand out just because you could get a lot of work done in a short period of time. But that's all changed, and I think the smart teens will take advantage of it.