Get a Handle on Your Shrinking Attention Span

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Feb 8, 2023

Dr. Gloria Mark, a world-renowned researcher on attention and author of Attention Span, dives into how our concentration has eroded in the digital age. She highlights the staggering decline in average attention span from two and a half minutes to just 47 seconds, largely due to multitasking and constant interruptions. Gloria explains personality influences on focus, revealing why neurotic individuals struggle more. She advocates for a balanced approach to attention, suggesting we embrace our natural rhythms rather than striving for hyper-focus.

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INSIGHT

Shrinking Attention Spans

Attention spans have significantly decreased since 2004, dropping from an average of 2.5 minutes to 47 seconds.
This decrease is empirically supported by Dr. Gloria Mark's research, using both stopwatches and computer logging.

INSIGHT

Automatic Attention

William James's definition of attention is incomplete because it doesn't account for automatic attention.
Automatic attention is triggered by stimuli like notifications, similar to our automatic response to danger signals.

INSIGHT

Attention Networks

Attention is not singular but a system of networks: vigilance, orienting, and executive control.
These networks manage different aspects of attention, like choosing focus and handling distractions.

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Twenty years ago, it didn't seem like a burdensome task to write a handwritten letter to a loved one. Fifteen years ago, it wasn't a big deal to write a long email to a friend. Today, it can feel hard to motivate yourself to tap out a two line response to a text.

The feeling that your attention span has been shrinking over time isn't just in your head. Research by today's guest shows that it is empirically getting shorter and shorter.

Dr. Gloria Mark is the world's preeminent researcher on attention and the author of Attention Span. If you'd like to get a handle on your diminishing powers of concentration, you have to understand how attention works, and that's what Gloria explains in the first part of our conversation. We then get into how multitasking is like drawing on and wiping off a whiteboard and why it makes us feel so frazzled. Gloria then shares the way that personality influences your attention span, including why people who are more neurotic have the shortest attention spans and why conscientious people may not want to use distraction-blocking apps. We then get into how the internet and the shot lengths of modern movies reinforce our short attention spans. In the last part of our conversation, Gloria makes the case that fighting the hindrances to our attention by trying to be focused all the time isn't possible or desirable, and that our goal should be balanced focus rather than hyper focus. She explains how to achieve that balanced focus by leaning into your unique productivity rhythm, taking breaks without guilt, and developing a sense of agency over your attention.

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Connect With Gloria Mark

Gloria's Website