Science Weekly Where did our attention spans go, and can we get them back?
31 snips
Jan 9, 2025 
Gloria Mark, a Professor of Informatics at UC Irvine and author of Attention Span, discusses the alarming decline in our ability to focus, revealing that office workers' attention spans have plummeted from 2.5 minutes to just 47 seconds in two decades. She connects this trend to the pervasive influence of digital distractions. Mark believes we can reclaim our concentration with practical strategies like taking breaks and utilizing visual reminders. She also explores how personality traits shape our attention, advocating for a rethinking of how we approach focus.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Decreasing Attention Spans
- Gloria Mark observed a dramatic decrease in attention spans over 20 years.
- Attention spans dropped from 2.5 minutes in 2003 to 47 seconds by 2020.
Technology's Impact on Attention
- Technology, like email and smartphones, has impacted attention spans, especially social media's influence.
- Social media algorithms and notifications, designed to exploit our social nature, are major distractors.
Task-Switching and Stress
- Rapid task-switching, while not necessarily decreasing productivity, increases stress and errors.
- This is measurable through higher blood pressure and heart rate variability.
